Naruto 2005 Christmas Special
by Person With Many Aliases
Summary: Otherwise known as Naruto: Advent Children. In a time of uneasy peace after the wars, a blonde hermit finds himself taking up his guilty sword, to save the world from a resurrection of evil. Merry Chrismas, and Happy New Year to my readers. Movie Length.


Merry Christmas. For those who follow _Mighty Ninjarai!_, I decided to put that off momentarily to put my efforts into this. You should be seeing new chapters after this story. This is my Christmas present to both myself, what with the character inserts, and also to whoever reads my works, generally those who are in the Naruto section as well.

As you read in the summary, this story borrows heavily off the movie _Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children_. That movie has some awesome action sequences. I don't care what you think, the idea that bikes can spin 360 degrees and not swerve out of control has revolutionized the world. Anyways, if you watched the movie, you'll be seeing more of the same, so don't expect too much. If you haven't, well… this spoils stuff, so keep in that in mind.

* * *

Deep underground, somewhere that truly was forsaken by the creators above, therin lay a small group of ninjas, picking through the underground passageways of their former home. Orochimaru used to call this the Hidden Village of Sound. The three of them together really knew the better name for it, but only Tayuya would bother saying, "hidden pile of shit" aloud.

The twin entities that were Sakon and Ukon gave a single sigh, before giving a kick to the molded desk of the former Kage of Sound, and watched contently at the pile of wood fall apart. Still, the information wasn't here. It was only one jutsu, and not even Orochimaru's desk in his once most sacred of inner sanctums had it.

"Where the hell could it be…" Sakon muttered to himself. A wire mic that was attached to the side of his throat and lining his ear suddenly crackled.

"_Oi, you pair of shit heads, I found it. Get your fucking asses over here."_ The red-headed female member growled through the static. Sakon snorted to himself. He wasn't sure if the homicidal bitch was referring to himself and Kidoumaru, or himself and his brother. She always seemed to like the brothers the least of all of them.

"Where are you?"

"The older dissection labs. Now move it."

Sakon mused at the location of the scroll they were looking for while he began to run. It was a rather classical trick to hide a grain of sand in a beach. There were countless volumes of scrolls of the method of dissection, subject files, records, and so on. No wonder.

But as Sakon moved to meet up with his team members, something wrong sounded through the mic.

"_What the hell? Who the hell are you guys?"_ Tayuya shouted.

Sounds of earth and aged structured splitting and shredding in combat fizzled through the communication with the static. Interspersed through out were the mutant sounds of fingers strumming across a string instrument, the shouts of jutsus, and the fine whine of blades piercing the air.

"Tayuya, Kidoumaru! What's going on!" Sakon shouted back, as he moved faster to the sounds of combat, while the walls vibrated from combat and dust fell from the ceiling.

"_Fuckers! I'll kill you!"_

"_What the hell are those? Are those WINGS?"_

The battle being relayed to the twin entities was cut short by a single deafening noise of an explosion, that not only remarked through the mic, the burned its way through the corridor that intersected in front of Sakon, stopping him short in front of the entrance to the dissection labs.

Smeared across the ground was a blackened form of Tayuya, who barely managed to raise herself up on hand hand.

"Get out…get out now…" The crimson haired woman managed to cough out through bared teeth.

Without a second thought to the accomplishment of his objectives and his friends, Sakon and Ukon would both escape the ruins of the old Sound Village, leaving the battle behind him…

* * *

_How many years has it been? The last great ninja war… the one that ended the age of ninjas. Every nation fought together, every nation fought each other. Every nation fought Akatsuki, the single ideal of nine twisted men and their legions of like-minded followers._

_But that was the last, and the greatest of all the ninja wars. Now, there are hardly any left to start another one. Few ninjas or villages are left. Even Konoha, the most powerful, is a barely standing village living the ruins of its past glories. This must be the end of an era, and the ushering of an age of new technology._

_For the last Hokage, Tsunade, she had to make a very important decision. Many of Konoha's artifacts must be hidden away from the world, hidden away from the prying, greedy eyes._

_There was no need for volunteers for the one who would hide all these. The Kyuubi was one of Konoha's legacies as well. He would take himself and the rest of the valuables…and disappear._

The last of the medic-nins of the last era looked out from a gaping hole in the hospital turned orphanage, and surveyed the remains of her village. It had begun snowing. How much time left would it be before blizzards kicked up? There were too many holes in the hospital, not enough heat… what to do-

"Neh, Sakura?" A sweet voice asked. Pink hair fluttered and green eyes looked down to a child.

"Yes, Honoko?" It still surprised Sakura at times how much the girl's blonde sharp hair reminded her…

"Uncle's coming for Christmas, isn't he?" The orphaned girl wondered.

"I wouldn't know… I hope he will, but you know how he is. Really, we should be more concerned about where to get some warmth for the winter." Sakura smiled. She didn't know whether the smile was a lie or not.

"Don't worry! If we get Uncle to come, I bet he'd find a way to solve everything! He always does! You know what he always says!"

Sakura smiled quietly at the faith of Honoko.

_He always said it was his ninja way…True, he always seemed to find a solution, even if it meant blowing a hole in a wall to get it done…but he's seen too much, lost too much in these years…_

_Still Naruto, where are you? So many of us still miss you._

* * *

**Person With Many Aliases Presents…**

_Naruto-_

_I need to talk to you._

_-The Kage of Sound Village._

Blue eyes looked over the aging letter. He'd received it several days back, and had been making the journey over to the current location of that village. He'd been there before, but he always hated how that bastard kept using that title, even with his friends.

"I was passing through, so I thought it would be best if I said hi to the two of you. Haku, Zabuza, I hope you're doing fine, where ever you are. I bet its even better there, than it is here."

Kyuubi's captor shifted his orange coat slightly, and nodded to the two graves, both wood marked, and with one having a rusting sword planted beside it. Sound village's new base was located in Wave Country. It wasn't too much further from Haku and Zabuza.

**Naruto: 2005 Christmas Special**

The blond turned around and headed back to his transportation. With the decline of the knowledge of chakra, conventional technology had picked up a lot. The greatest benefit was in transportation. Hell, even Naruto loved these Motorbikes. The danger matched him perfectly.

**Director (Unofficial): Tetsuya Nomura**

Seating himself atop the mount of the giant steel beast, Naruto pulled on a pair of goggles, and began revving the engine. All throughout, he did his best to ignore the pain from the final curse the Akatsuki Uchiha gave him.

**Story Design: Person With Many Aliases **

**Background Story: Masashi Kishimoto**

The motorbike came to life, and quickly propelled Naruto down through the side of the cliff, and into the war torn wasteland that was level with the Great (Naruto) Bridge that connected the Wave Island to the mainland. It was not long after Naruto left the graves that a slow crawl of several more bikes rode up to them, wishing use of the view of the cliff. One of the bikes smacked into the rusted sword, and a heeled foot quickly made kicked it to the ground, out of the owner's view.

**Character Design: **

**Masashi Kishimoto**

**Daisuke Ishiwatari**

**Person With Many Aliases**

There were three bikes, each of their owners as unique from each other as the uniformity of their bikes. To the right, a woman sat. She wore the shortest of red leather dresses, barely stopping beneath her crotch, and ending below her breasts. A minute red jacket was the only thing that covered her breasts, and long platform boots of the same color rode up her legs. On her head, on top of her short black hair was adorned with a large red crooked hat, with a leather skull design imprinted into the surface. Her eyes twinkled with multiple colors upon the angle she looked, and a blue green guitar hung from her back. Her hands in fingerless gloves were folded together in mock politeness

To the left, a man sat. A long black trench coat fluttered over his form, the sleeves stopping at the elbows to reveal the white polo sleeves of the shirt he was wearing. The jeans he wore barely remained, instead patches of red, green, any cloth found were stitched together to make viable legs. A handle of a weapon shifted into view from behind the coat. On top of his short, spiked back brown hair, an aged and crumpled black hat, in design of wizards of lore, sat atop it. His eyes remained dull, brown, and unamused. His hands fingerless gloves lay limply by his sides.

In the center was one more woman. She wore a black and white long jacket, and black leather pants that were tight enough to hug the entire form of her leg, which led down into the white high-heeled boots that were used to kick the sword out of the way. Long blue silky hair lined a beautiful young face while distant, deep red eyes looked around her idly. The back of her jacket held two openings sealed with zippers, as if something would emerge from there. Inexplicably, a long black tail came out from under her jacket, waving with life while a yellow ribbon was tied to the very end.

"Hey, Dizzy. Is this the sound place that boy is supposed to be going to?" The red musician asked with a light, playful tone that underlay viciousness. From their vantage point, the three of them could see the bridge and the island village in the distance.

"I would think so," The blue haired woman replied evenly, "We wouldn't know though. So much has changed from the last time we were awake."

The inquirer leaned forward, resting her elbows on the front of the bike while she surveyed, "My, my. What a boring place. I don't think there's any entertaining people there. Pleh." She harrumphed.

The man sneered then, "Awww, poor baby. Is I-no without any people to kill for once? How disheartening it is for our party." The last part came out brokenly, while a bead of sweat ran down the side of the man's head, even though it was winter. Gasping, he quickly reached dove his hand inside the inner lining of his jacket to retrieve a bottle of aspirin, which he opened and poured nearly all of the contents into his mouth.

The red woman, I-no snorted before turning her attention back to Dizzy. "So, you really think he has it?"

The ruby eyes of Dizzy showed nothing while she thought, "Who knows?"

The man turned from his bottle of aspirin and looked at Dizzy disbelievingly, " 'Who knows?' You don't know? You're making us go on a wild goose chase? What sort of crap is that!"

I-no smirked and slyly called back, "Aww, poor baby. Has Colt been jacking off to those sweet thoughts of getting our prize? Heh, wanker…"

The man named Colt hoarsely replied, "Between you and that, I'd happily jack off to it instead of-"

Dizzy's hand rose, stopping the argument. She nodded in a direction, "There he is."

The other two looked down and saw a blonde and orange figure speeding his way across the field below.

From there, the quarreling from before became non-existent, replaced by unanimous smirking in delight. I-no and Colt crouched down low and began revving up their bikes. The two of them shot ahead, leaving Dizzy on the cliff to observe while they fell off the edge, their bikes bouncing down the rocks to the bottom.

It wasn't long for the blonde and orange figure, Naruto to notice two other bikes suddenly jumping out of nowhere and trailing behind him. Behind him, the red woman threw open a scroll, from which the man in the coat caught in one hand. The long scripture open between them; Naruto could see long scrawling symbols representing a particular sequence of seals, the entire document being smeared in red. The two shouted out.

"Alpha."

"Beta."

"Ninja Summoning: Great Demon Fox-Hunt."

From the scroll the blackness of the ink burst out to onto the ground, crawling out of the shadows immense mottled black monsters, clawed, fanged, and running on all fours at the blonde ninja. Naruto was already on the move.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

One of the monsters that were leaping through the air at Naruto immediately was met by six different open palms, each of them holding outstretched a ball of drilling blue chakra. While the Clones immeaditly disappeared, their use dispensed already, the originator looked back unhappily while the shadows of the dissipated monster recollected behind the ninja back into a viable form.

Meanwhile, one of the monsters closed in on Naruto's side. A small green cylinder fell into Naruto's hand.

If there was any perk to his exile, it was at least that Tsunade (while she was alive) permitted him to use any of the artifacts he was entrusted with.

Indiscriminately.

Raijin, legendary sword of one of the earlier Hokages, blazed alive as lightning yellow chakra poured out of one of the openings of the cylinder Naruto held, transforming the tube into a large sword made of chakra. A swing cleaved the shadow monster beside Naruto into two, before disappearing into smoke as well.

Meanwhile, the two enemy bikers weaved between their summoned monsters. As Naruto slashed another one away, the man in the trench coat caught up along side with the ninja.

"So, where is it?"

Before Naruto could respond, the man already was raising his arm while a large purple blade lanced out from underneath his wrist, which he slashed at Naruto with. The Kyuubi captor managed to swerve away out of the swing. As soon as Naruto managed to regain control of his spinning bike, a harsh musical note sounded from behind him, while he ducked down in time to see an amber lance of light slash above his head. Racing ahead, several more of the blades of light screamed around him, while the woman sitting upright in her bike, her hands playing all over the strings of her guitar, releasing the blades of light from it.

Drawing along side as well, she sneered, "You're hiding it! Spill!" She jammed on the strings again, strumming out several more amber lances, which Naruto blocked with Raijin before swinging out at the red woman, forcing her away.

After that Naruto avoided nearly being bulldozed by another monster charging at him, while driving widely, trying to find a way to escape from the multiple enemies. But with the woman with the guitar on his one side, firing her amber blades, and the man on the other, trying to use his bike to broadside Naruto, it would be a while before such luck occurred.

From above, Dizzy watched the three bikes slide around across the snow-covered plains, dueling each other. In her hand, one of the new technologies, a mobile telephone, was help against her ear.

"I wonder… does he really have it?"

Dizzy listened.

"Don't give me those answers."

Another pause.

"I'm not going to talk to someone like you. Let me talk to your leader." Dizzy coldly ordered through the phone.

Meanwhile down below, another of the shadowy demons launched itself at Naruto and his bike. Naruto easily fended himself off again while he steered around, trying to avoid the monsters that were quickly advancing from several angles. The red woman was also caught up behind him, trailing the ninja while her guitar screamed out those blasts of energy. Up ahead, the man in the coat appeared, and sensing an opportunity, began to slide his bike sideways, hoping to smash straight into Naruto. Quick instincts from the target told him to speed up unexpectedly, making the front of the bike jump up before the sliding tackle. With that, the upcoming collision merely turned into Naruto's bike bouncing over the man's, while the ninja spun his bike around to face the coated figure, who brought his bike around.

At the sight of the man raising his arm, the same purple blade arising out again, Naruto raised his own to attack any moment. A few seconds later, the bikes intercepted, the coated man's spinning around quickly to drive in the same direction beside the ninja.

As the two struck at each other, the purple blade and the yellow chakra sword glancing off each other, a sharp pain struck up the exiled leaf's spine.

Naruto hissed in pain while he swore at the memories of the damned traitor Uchiha. _I can't have that curse working up now!_

Still, with his body suddenly sluggish through the exhausting pain that shot through his every muscle and organ, Naruto managed to swing again at his opponent. But unlike the weakened shinobi, the man saw the slow swing and blocked it. In a moment, a sneer and a second blade that shot out of the other arm trapped the Raijin, and a quick twist flung the sword out of Naruto's grasp and far into the distance. Wincing, Naruto was about to retaliate without the sword when he heard the roar of another bike up ahead. In front of him, the guitarist woman was forcing her bike straight at the two deadlocked vehicles, before slamming straight into Naruto's bike. The force only brought the woman's bike flying in a spin over Naruto, while he could only gape while the woman upside down, smirked and stroked a single string.

The amber blast smashed straight into Naruto's face, the force snapping his entire head back, and for that and some miraculous reason, the worst that happened was the goggles imprinting a deep cut around one of his eyes while they twirled away from his head, revealing his blue eyes from underneath the dark glass. Only a second later the man beside Naruto attacked the dazed ninja who barely avoided.

All around the more monsters seemed to be sprouting out of smoke, all with the same intent to pursue the ninja, cursed with sluggishness and dazed, and without a weapon. As he tried to outrace the furious beasts, their two owners watched sadistically, before the woman nodded her head to the monsters.

_Stop playing around, my sweets._

With that, the monsters that swarmed around Naruto leapt, claws out to tear him to shreds while the ninja bared his teeth and raised his arms vainly trying to open another jutsu to defend himself.

A single hand rose out. _Halt._

As suddenly as they attacked, all the monsters, even the ones in the middle of their dooming swipe, disappeared into the black smoke that dissipated, as if they never existed. Naruto's two attackers did not look surprised, but the blonde looked around, surprised, before noticing the third biker on the cliff, her hand raised.

Meanwhile the man with the purple blades and the musician gave a final farewell haughty chuckle and sneer, before spinning their bikes around and driving away in retreat. Soon after, the remaining biker slid his to a halt, all the while keeping his serious blue orbs tracked on the figure on the cliff. Up on the hill, the woman gave a gentle smile before starting her bike and disappearing herself.

Naruto was left alone in the snowy wastes, left only with the question of what the hell just happened.

* * *

After recovering Rajin (and seeing his goggles smashed beyond use) Naruto sped, throttle full open, down the cold gray bridge to Sound Village. Passing the open gates, the bike eventually slowed down and got caught up in the crowded pathways of the city, where he was forced to a slow crawl while people noticed and not noticed him with vague interest. People passed through here all the time, ninja or not. Who the hell was he, anyways? Who cared?

Passing through streets upon streets, the man on the bike in the crowds eventually stopped his mount in front of an out of the way mansion. He quickly jumped off and marched furiously over to the entrance. Kicking the door open, Naruto held a single kunai out, immediately stopping a blow from a similar weapon.

Sakon backed up, tongue wagging in delight, before charging forwards.

Naruto's form merely blurred to the side out of the Sound ninja's charge, and a quick kick to his backside forced him out the door, where he turned in time only to see the door slam in his face.

"As expected from you…" Sakon's muffled voice called through. Naruto only took it as a reminder to lock the door. Before him, the Exiled Leaf saw an empty foyer, with two side doors. One of them opened up, with another pale haired Sound ninja entering through, also familiar with Naruto, especially with his characteristic habitual and audible cracking of his bones, like he had an eternal crick in his spine. The two stared each other down for a second before the Sound ninja moved, a blade of bleached white shooting out of his palm toward Naruto-

Another orange blur, and Naruto was already beside the jabbing attacker, the same kunai scant centimeters in front of the ninja's eye. The pale haired one with his equally pale blade grimaced and kept some noise at the bottom of his throat. He could grow bone yes, but his eye was something that was not made of calcium, and just behind the eye was the brain. A quick jab could easily kill him.

"That's enough, Kimimaro." A final voice commanded. Soundlessly, the Kaguya bone grower backed away from Naruto. From the open side door, voice's owner wheeled himself in, a ruinous cloth wrapped figure on a wheelchair.

"Uzumaki Naruto. I present to you the Kage of Sound Village." Kimimaro monotonously replied.

Naruto smiled to himself. It was something caught between pity and a sneer. "You look worse than before… Sasuke."

A Sharingan twinkled momentarily under the shadows of the shawl before deactivating. "Not everyone has the same twisted luck as you do, Idiot."

* * *

_The Sound-nin and the Leaf-nin together in a wretched remains of a battlefield screamed in pain, while black flames licked around them and all over them._

_Ahead of them, outside of the immense circle of flames, a man stood. His once proud coat of red clouds was ripped to shreds, while various weapons were dug into his flesh all over his body. Near his stomach, a cauterized hole was burned right through, while one of his shoulders looked like it was drilled right through. Through his blood stained face, a single red eye still shone._

_Mangekyou Sharingan._

_My final gifts to you two, Naruto-kun, my dear brother. It appears my Amaterasu is not strong enough to kill you. But please, enjoy the slow agonizing burn of the flames as it consumes the remainders of your years while you live. It is the price we all pay to obtain the knowledge of our limits…"_

_Itachi died that day, and for the two ninjas, the would find the black flames tattooed into their flesh when they awoke, tattoos that would slowly consume their bodies as fuel until they combust and died in flames of glory-_

* * *

"Unfortunately, my Curse Seal is not as potent a repellent to the curse as your… prisoner. While you stand with the illusion of health, my body withers away realistically." Sasuke explained.

"…What do you want from me, Sasuke?"

"Oh? No small talk between friends?"

"You were never the type for small talk. Who were those who attacked me?"

"Doesn't everybody find trouble with you?"

"If the only reason I'm here is to put up with you and your goddamn tea party, I'm going."

"Naruto."

The Ninja stopped, and turned his head back at his former comrade.

"…I need your abilities as a ninja."

"I'm not some mercenary or old ninja you can hire, Sasuke-"

"Naruto, I represent one of the remaining ninja clans in this world. Not only that, I represent Hidden Village of Sound. Orochimaru formed it, and Orochimaru also aided Akatsuki once. We have a lot of work to do to make up for the damages both of them did. It is unfortunate the state of the world is blamed on ninjas, us especially. But it is now our duty to repay that debt to the world. For that first step, we decided to investigate the extent of the damage that stemmed from Orochimaru's work. So we sent a group to look into the ruins of the former Sound Village. What do you think we found there?"

"…what?"

Sasuke chuckled quickly at the tone of the blonde's voice, "Why Naruto, you can relax a bit. We didn't find anything of interest there. But something unexpected did happen. An interfering group, most likely the same group that attacked you, attacked our investigation. It's a gang named Midnight Carnival. Their leader is a woman named Dizzy.

"Dizzy?"

"Yes. They have been a minor trouble in the past, but we have never seen them move against us with such obvious force. Really, I can't understand their theatrics…"

"So why did they attack me?"

"They see no distinction between ninjas and those who help ninjas in general." Kimimaro answered this time.

"Midnight Carnival's members are unpredictable, and their violence has no bounds," Sasuke picked up after, "So we of Sound Village decided to bolster our still green military with an experienced, and well-trained bodyguard."

Naruto knew who that bodyguard was already, "Sasuke. I already told you, I'm not that sort of ninja anymore. I have a more important duty to look after, than fight your battles."

"You're the only one who can do this. I beg of you, Leaf Ninja Uzumaki Naruto."

"That's not my title anymore, Otokage-sama." Naruto headed back to the door and unlocked it, about to leave when one more question hit him.

"…What is 'it', that they spoke of?"

"Did they say something to you? You shouldn't mind them really. They're like mindless children really. The world after a war is full of people like that, looking for someone or something of value they can cling to. I hear you yourself are rather fond of the orphans in Konoha. Don't you want to help them, too? Dizzy and the other's stand for the destruction of everything we stand for, and for everything we regained from the aftermath of this war. Will you not help us?"

Naruto turned away from the door again, thoughtful. "I…"

Sakon, through the opened door called out, "Come on, Naruto. The revitalization of the ninja villages. The perfect dream, no?"

_You mean the revitalization of the wars again._ Something spiteful welled back up into Naruto's eyes, "I'm not interested."

Naruto marched out the door passed Sakon.

"Sakon…"

The sound nin's superiors did not sound appreciative of Sakon's attempt.

* * *

There is a temple deep in a forest. While parts of the walls and the roofing have fallen away with time, leaving the building in half gutted disarray, those passed away with peaceful time, rather than cruel war. Snow fell through the openings, and fell into a piled clearing in one side of buildings. There were still several pews and wood flooring that remained in good condition, despite everything else.

The large double doors on one side of the temple opened up, allowing access for a pink haired medic and a blonde orphan.

Honoko giggled in delight as she raced over to the flowers rising above the snow in the clearing. Behind her, Sakura walked slowly behind looking all around her at the near fantastic scenery around her. As she also made it to the snowy flowerbed, the two of them noticed signs of habitation.

A sleeping bag, an out of the place wooden box used as a desk, a lantern…

"Does Uncle live here?" Honoko turned to Sakura.

"Sometimes. He moves from place to place a lot though. Looks like we were lucky this time."

The elder girl walked over to the desk and other makeshift living materials. Behind her Honoko followed, and stopped by another box near the others. It looked different though. For one thing it was much larger, and several straps roped around the entirety of the container, like something inside was meant to stay there forever.

Not that it stopped children, though. Just this one had some common sense to ask.

"Neh, Sakura?"

The medic looked back at the inquisitive girl.

"What's in here?"

Sakura shrugged dismissively, but Honoko could see something in her that said 'I wouldn't try finding out, though'. Honoko agreed.

The medic walked over to the wood box-desk then, and looked down. There was only one thing on it, but it still surprised Sakura. On the desk lay a pile of bandaging, but it was all blackened, parts of it even charred, as if the wrappings had been trying to soak up and contain blood that was on fire. Honoko picked it up, and felt the bandaging even contained heat. But this heat was not warmth. It vaguely reminded the orphan of heat from cold so deep it burned, and of heat from tears and pain while you hurt yourself. A heat one acknowledged, but never wanted to use.

"Is… Uncle sick?"

Sakura just looked down at the bandages. _He never told us how bad it was…_

"Is this why Uncle never comes around as much now?"

_Is he planning on fighting this alone? Does he really think avoid us worrying about him or his sickness just by avoiding us? (Men…)_

"…Sakura?" Honoko piqued up. Her older sister/Aunt figure seemed to be quieter than usual, especially at the mention of her Uncle being sick.

Sakura shook herself out of the daze and leaned down to the orphan, "Shall we go home, Honoko?"

The blonde girl shook her head, "I want to see Uncle! If he's really sick…"

Sakura let a smile to herself. There really was something about Honoko… "You're right," The medic reached for the bandaging, and held it lightly in her hands, "Everybody wants to see him again, right?"

"Yeah!"

"So we'll wait for him until he comes back, right? What do you think we should do when he comes?"

"Bring him back for Christmas!"

"Yes… but not without lecturing him, Sakura-style, right?"

"Okay!"

Honoko loved Sakura-style.

* * *

Kimimaro dropped to the ground battered, which was amazing, due to his near indestructible Bloodlimit. Near him Sakon also lay sprawled across the ground. Stepping around the beaten bodies towards the still incapacitated Kage, Dizzy's voice harshly chided.

"I don't like it when people think they can just lead us around like toys. Nobody in Midnight Carnival does."

"I'm sorry, Dizzy," Sasuke replied, "I'll tell you the truth this time. I was really sure that Naruto had it. When Sakon escaped, apparently he lost it in Konoha territory, but was too scared to pursuit to retrieve it without help. I'm sure it's in Konoha territory. Either Naruto has it, or somebody there does."

"Is that the absolute truth, Village Leader?" Dizzy in a mockingly doubtful tone. She was tired of games, though it didn't show too much, with her back turned to the wheelchair borne Uchiha.

"I swear."

Dizzy turned around then, that gentle motherly smile again. "I think you should swear on this."

She tossed two articles on the ground. Tayuya's flute and Kidoumaru's headband. Both of them were caked in rust colored blood.

Sasuke was silent before turning his shawl covered head up at Dizzy. "What are you planning?"

"We need It. We need it at all costs for the…Reunion."

"Reunion?"

"We are going to bring back our gone leaders, our gone idealists! We'll bring them back and they'll lead us to glory and revenge to all the Shinobi Nations that thought they were gone!"

Silence.

"Still, the preparations for the party were going smoothly… until your damn ninjas stole It. Now even they don't know where it is."

Dizzy sighed to herself, "What are we going to do without it? It's the keystone to everything… How annoying. But it can't be helped. We are merely awakened tools and sacrifices for our leaders. Not enough with just our own show of force and this party for the real Reunion…"

"Real Reunion? What are you thinking…?"

"I've think you've noticed by now… you are Uchiha, after all…"

Dizzy leaned forward, so her face was in front of the Kage's. Soon all he could see was her ruby eye staring at her. For a moment, he was reminded of his family's Sharingan. For a moment, those pools of red almost looked like…

_Ruby eyes… Sharingan…sacrifices and tools…gone leaders…_

_Wait, is she planning to-?_

* * *

Snow continued to fall on the temple, while Sakura waited, and Honoko hummed to herself, brushing off snow that was collecting on the flowers.

The double doors at the back suddenly slammed open. Sakura turned around and squinted at the approaching figure glared over at the sun. Her instincts already distrusted a person who'd slam open doors for no reason. Those people were violent by nature.

Honoko, though, figured it was just Uncle, since no one else should have bothered about this place. She turned from her flowers with delight and rushed over.

But for Sakura, the glare died out fast enough to see the man in the black coat and hat pace slowly through the entrance. She grabbed Honoko before she could rush past her. While the two backed away, the shadows played over Colt's face while he approached. A single pop signified another opening of a bottle of painkillers, which he consumed while walking over. Eventually, he stopped for second.

"So, where is it?"

Sakura just kept her glare at him, while Honoko gave slightly fearful, slightly confused look.

"What, cat got you tongue or something?" Colt said while walking forward again. Something pungent caught his nose then, incensing the headache he had just dulled a moment ago.

Looking down at the flowers on the ground, Colt snorted while he massaged a temple with one hand, "Stupid flowers…"

Colt turned his attention back to Sakura and Honoko, "So anyways, where is it-"

"There's nothing here for you." Sakura interrupted suddenly.

Colt smirked, a lone brown eye staring through the shadow of his hat. "Then shall we dance, my love?" He raised a palm open like an invitation.

Sakura gently pushed Honoko away, signaling the blonde child to rush away and hide behind one of the pillars near Uncle's living area. Meanwhile, Colt watched inquisitively while Sakura pulled something out from her pocket. Sliding each black glove into place, she made a fist with each, the cloth tightening, feeling right in her hands again. Sakura slid one foot forward slightly, and raised her gloved fists.

"Well… this ought to be interesting…" Colt laughed to himself for a second before sliding one foot back, bending and raising his arm closest to Sakura up to his chest while his other was held away.

There was a tensional silence as each waited for each other.

Sakura blurred forwards first. Hoping to catch the man off guard with the speed, she struck forward a fist. Colt only caught her wrist with a grin. The grin was broken when Sakura brought her other hand, an open palm, right into Colt's face, pushing him backwards. Right after, Sakura was in his face, striking left and right across his chest, rocking him in place until an elbow pushed him back again, only to find his face in front of a foot rushing towards his vision.

The force of the kick was enough to reel his entire body backwards for a moment before he swung slowly back at Sakura, her face suddenly in front of Colt's own outstretched palm. Shocked for a moment, she suddenly saw purple flying out of the white sleeve and something piercing her shoulders and slicing her cheeks. She easily kicked off and away, flipping back into the snow clearing. Feeling her bleeding cheek, she looked at her opponent.

Colt just smirked, while several ethereal violet blades protruded from his arms like branches of a tree. Sakura watched as the weapons sunk back under the flawless cloth, like they never existed. The pink-haired ninja just gripped her fist again while Colt kept his arm raised at ready.

Sakura charged forwards again, this time suddenly falling into a slide towards Colt's ankles. The man merely leapt over the attack, arms loose at his sides and landed behind Sakura. Turning around, he underestimated the medic's speed as a fist suddenly met his face. The chakra-powered fist launched him across the room to the wall beside the aged wood pews. Falling to his feet, he backed up quickly with his arm raised again, while Sakura among the walls and pillars towards him quickly, catching him again with a kick that sent him sailing again. Sliding backwards, Sakura still moved to fast, another fast kick to his jaw sending his vision upwards, before the upraised foot kicked downwards at his shoulder, bringing his entire chest down so that one more devastating upward shot hit him with enough force that it brought both Sakura and Colt spinning through the air. Both of them landed at the same time, the medic running forward while Colt reeled his arm back to strike. His blow was stopped by Sakura's gloved fist catching his wrist, while a second attempt followed similar consequences, leaving both their arms used.

Both of them struggled a moment to break their grips before Colt opened his mouth wide. Sakura was shocked to see purple in there too, when a blade suddenly caught her in the shoulder, forcing her back. Colt laughed for a moment while the purple blade hung from his mouth like a snake's tongue. His own foot planted itself in the dazed medic's stomach, making her slide back with a cough. Sakura a moment later got back to her senses while she was on her knees, and noticed the presence above her. She narrowly ducked under the blade-encrusted swing from Colt that smashed into the stone wall behind her. Using the pause as an opportunity, she tackled Colt in the stomach, causing both of them to sail narrowly above the wood floor, with Sakura on top of her enemy. Sliding her foot between them, the medic jumped with all her force, kicking Colt into the ground while she flew away.

A hand grabbed her ankle.

The kunoichi only had time to have a gasp of surprise before she found herself being dragged down. Colt, planting both his feet on the ground swung his captive in circles, smashing her randomly against the wood benches around them, before spinning around several more times, picking up speed. With a yell, Colt flung her towards the carved stone wall behind the snowy clearing.

Sakura's old training had her chakra making her cling to the wall for a few precious seconds, allowing her to look up. Through the falling snow, she could see Colt, his cold gaze calculating her moves from where he stood.

Tucking her feet under herself, she shot forward off the wall towards Colt, who swung out his blade-laden arm at her again. He missed though, Sakura's speed moving her to the inside of his swing before he could finish, allow her to grab Colt's neck in a running clothesline.

With a yell, Sakura continued, continuing to hold Colt by his collar, and dragging and dribbling him across the wood floor amidst his yelps. One more slam into the ground bounced the bladesman into the air, while the medic flipped around, and slid to a stop underneath her slowly descending enemy. Leaping up, she floated alongside Colt long enough to back his jacket, and with another blur of her chakra power arms, threw him with all her might into the ground, cracking the wood flooring, knocking pews over from the force, making the dirt rise in an explosion, all the while the man disappeared in the chaos.

And as the triumphant medic landed on her feet a little ways behind the hole in the ground, she remained silent.

Looks like nobody was coming out of the crater she made…

"Ah! Wow! Sakura!" Honoko exclaimed as she crept out of her cover. She ran over to her dear foster relative in happiness (bad man go away!), while the medic leaned on her knees expectantly-

**Ding-a-ling-a-ling!**

That stopped the two of them, while they heard a tinny voice around them. _What the hell?_

**Boop-a-doop-a-doop! Boop-a-doop-a-doop!**

While Sakura looked around trying to find the source of the music, the bench-covered crater in the ground exploded again, kicking the wood debris off Colt, while he got up and cracked his neck nonchalantly.

**Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, banannaphone… Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, banannaphone…**

A look of shock from the medic, before turning back to a glare. Meanwhile, Honoko hid behind her older friend.

**I've got this feeling…so appealing… for us to get together and sing! (Sing!)-Beep**

Colt's Bannanaphone ring tone was cut short when he took out a phone and flipped it open. His other hand moved for an aspirin bottle. There was a silence, while he completely disregarded the existence of the medic who just threw him through the ground.

"…Look, it's not here…" Colt groaned.

"…Yeah, fuck you too!"

Something in the conversation suddenly seemed to have caught the man's attention, making him look back at the two women. A calm look was in his eyes. "Really? Oh, okay, I'll bring her back."

Colt slapped his phone shut and sauntered back towards the two, sighing. "Well, that was certainly time wasting. But since I have to go now, I'll cut our dance short."

Bringing his hands together into an animal seal, he concentrated for a moment. A moment later, six large blades sprouted from his back, and hung from his shoulders like some twisted excuse for wings.

"Hijutsu: Stag Hunting Scene."

The blades on his back arched upwards, as if being barely held back from attack. But the man was making a suspicious movement with one of his legs…

"Goodnight, child…"

Sakura's eyes darkened.

A moment later, Colt launched his foot forward, kicking a large block of wood debris towards the two.

Honoko shrieked and hid behind Sakura, but the medic kept calm, and swung a backhand towards the approaching object, and knocked it out of the way.

And while the world moved in slow motion, Sakura not even finishing her swing, Colt was already beside her, facing the other way.

"…It's time for bed." Sakura heard whispered in her ear.

Sakura only had time to gasp before purple consumed her.

After Honoko realized what was happening, she looked in utter horror while several purple tendril blades, like extra appendages, flung her away like a doll, leaving deep gashes in the medic as she flew into a column. Another purple blur, and Colt was already pinning her by the neck with one hand to the pillar. Purple blades suddenly lanced out from Colt's gripping arm, smashing Sakura into the stone pillar with enough force to split it into rubble. Colt flung the woman away, leaving her to roll into the snowy clearing.

While Sakura moaned, and feebly tried to move her body, blood pooled under her body, while her Stag Hunter moved through the snow towards her. Crouching down, Colt grabbed the kunoichi's shirt to pull her body up, while his other hand was pointed at her, one single blade protruding from his wrist to finish her off.

Something hit the back of his head then, distracting him from his upcoming murder. As the object hit the ground, Colt followed, and saw the thing that just hit his head was a scroll. A pretty old one at that.

Hey, isn't that seal on the scroll by the second Hokage?

Colt looked further and saw a Honoko on the verge of tears, obviously trying to do her bit to help. Next to her was a large box that was once strapped and encased. Now it was open, inside a plethora of scrolls, all of them containing seals of the Kage level.

Colt grinned, deciding to actually follow through with what he was ordered to do. Dropping the medic, he stood up and walked over to the open box and the orphan. With the shadow of death looming over her, Honoko shivered, and held onto the charred bandaging in her hands.

"Naruto…" She whimpered.

Behind them, Sakura managed to cry out, "Honoko, run-"

* * *

"Did you hear?" The orphans of Konoha gathered around the partially ruined and rotting hospital.

"Hear what?"

"Some band is holding a party for us?"

"What you mean by us? You mean all of us?"

"Yeah! They're inviting all the orphans only! It's so cool! The people inviting us look so cool!"

"What sort of party?"

"I bet it's a concert! The woman had a guitar you know!"

"Where are we going?"

"I dunno. They're taking us there. They even got a truck!"

"A truck! Cool! I haven't seen one of those!"

"They're bringing as many as they need to get us there!"

"Wow!"

The children were huddled in excitement.

"So when is it?"

"Right now! They have the trucks for us right now! Let's go!"

The word spread fast among the children of Konoha, and they flocked to the empty gap in the wall that once held the gigantic gates of Hidden Leaf. Now instead, were parked at least three trucks. Several children were around, and several were still arriving, and several more still were piling themselves onto the vehicles, while they marveled at the noise and steel of the machine.

Meanwhile, a musician dressed in red watched. I-no let one side of her mouth grin for a second before moving on, overseeing other trucks.

* * *

It was good to be home. Well as good a home as the place would be for Naruto for the moment. The Exiled Leaf walked into the temple, and immediately noticed it out of place.

An entire pillar was gone. Footprints in the dust covered wood everywhere, benches missing and replaced with scrap wood.

Oh shit-

"Sakura!"

Naruto ran towards the snowy clearing, seeing a familiar fallen form there. _Not her…_

Picking up the injured sakura, he called again.

A small moan came from her mouth, and an eye opened to look at him, "You're late…"

"Who did this?"

"I didn't recognize him… he wore a black coat and hat… used some weird swords…"

Naruto had a feeling who that was.

"I…I think he took Honoko…"

"Damnit…" That guy was going to pay three times over…

But Naruto still felt something off with the scene. Something was still missing. Looking around, the blue eyes spied his sleeping arrangements and saw something very wrong.

The box holding Konoha's artifacts was missing.

"Damnit…"

Another shock of pain suddenly arched up Naruto's back, enveloping his body in the pain of being set on fire.

_God damnit! Not now! I have to help Sakura! I have to get the children… the artifacts from them! Damn Akatsuki damn Itachi damn Midnight Carnival oh god now it really hurts now you stupid damn fox you're never a help nowadays motherfu-ugh_

Naruto fell by Sakura. They both slept in the snow.

* * *

The sun was setting through the window of the hospital, and where it shone, it landed on Naruto's face. The heat on his face disturbed his dreamless rest, and before he knew it, he found himself lying on a white sheet mattress. Rising slightly, the blonde felt the subsided pain of his curse. Looking beside him, he saw the still form of the pink haired medic. Fortunately, from what Naruto could see as he stood up and inspected her, she was still alive to say the least. Her previous injuries seemed to have been bandaged over, and now she slept peacefully.

"It's quite sad to see the hero of Konoha-"

Naruto spun around to face the voice.

"-to be unconscious and sleeping like a baby in situation like that. Humph. You were heavy." Sakon called out. Next to him was the Kaguya bone grower.

"Naruto. The orphans live in this hospital, correct?" Kimimaro asked. It seemed like everything he said was a statement, though.

"There's no orphans here, kid. It seems like most of the kids in the whole damn village are missing." Sakon explained.

Naruto's head turned downwards. "I was too late again…"

"So the missing children are alright with you?" Kimimaro emotionlessly responded.

"…What about Sakura?" Naruto looked back at her sleeping form.

"…God damn… sometimes I wonder what Otokage-sama sees in you. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered helping someone like you." Sakon whined before leaving.

"We'll keep you posted with information." Kimimaro finished up before leaving as well.

And so Naruto waited for Sakura.

* * *

Deep in the forest, covered over by night, three figures stood. Dizzy regarded Colt, and looked at the captive Honoko that had her shirt firmly held by the bladesman. Dizzy's red eyes finally rested on the open box, containing the scrolls.

"So, he was hiding this?" Dizzy reaffirmed, "The forbidden knowledge of all the leaders of Leaf Village."

The leader of Midnight Carnival picked up a sizable scroll, gigantic even, compared to the others. "The Forbidden Scroll of Seals. The knowledge to summon demons from the farthest reaches of the universe."

Dizzy smiled.

"This will be very useful."

* * *

Night fell over the hospital. It was the cold of the evening the roused Sakura from her sleep. The medic winced slightly from the throb of her bound wounds she found on herself. Looking beside her, she found the Exiled Leaf leaning against the wall, staring out the window.

"The orphans are missing, Sakura. It's most likely the man who attacked you is also partly responsible for this. Sasuke got his ninja looking for them."

There was a silence of the night before Sakura spoke again, but for different reasons.

"…You're still suffering from Itachi'sAmaterasu, aren't you? You were really thinking of dying without anyone noticing?"

Naruto didn't answer.

"I should have known… what's happened to you, Naruto?"

"…Something like me has lived longer than even his friends… Itachi's curse can't be retracted. I think it would be better for me to have my time."

"But why are you thinking like this Naruto? You used to never give up."

"Those years during the last war. I saw too much. I tried as hard as I could. Even somebody special like me couldn't save all those precious to me… I wonder if I can still save anybody at all. Heh, look at me. Tsunade turned me into a hermit like her friends."

"**Naruto…**" Sakura growled. The good old days returned to her, "Exactly why are you still whining? A person who wears the colors you do does **not** drag misery around!"

"A person like you shouldn't really be dragging any duty around in this situation." Sakon's voice returned. Naruto and Sakura turned around to see the two sound ninja.

"You found the children?" Sakura asked first.

"There's an eye witness who saw some suspicious fellows drive the children away in trucks. The same ones, we're after Naruto." Sakon answered.

"Do you know where they went?" Naruto asked after.

"Midnight Carnival hides in a forest. It is most likely they are there again." Kimimaro answered.

"You better be careful though, kid." Sakon muttered, "They take those kids you like, they're holding a concert… man, this is just an invitation for you to come, you know."

* * *

"My dear friends, did you all enjoy the performance?" Dizzy called out. A rabble of cheers came from the children.

Dizzy nodded affirmatively, "Yes, but it's so sad we live in a time like this, where we don't have so many pleasures as these now. We're all that's left behind from the wars, aren't we? We're all orphans here. Even my friends and I, we all grew up in a world with no love or family. Who should we call to justice for making us all suffer more than anybody else in any other age?"

Her question stilled all the children; Dizzy nodded again, "I have an idea. The ninjas. They're the ones who made the war that made us all parentless. They're the ones who own the villages that prosper on our parent's deaths. Every time they come around, it is always to battle, isn't it? Why should people like them stand to exist? It isn't fair, isn't it? People who start wars should never exist!"

The children were moved. Shouts of agreements sounded throughout the crowd.

"Help me then! Help Midnight Carnival! We will bring about leaders with true ideals that have no meaningless quests for more power! Let us together wash away the remains of our old history, and start a new era together!"

Cheers and tears of awe all around.

"Please, look into my eyes. I will give you my strength to save what remains of our land." Dizzy commanded.

Colt continued to watch, holding Honoko in place. She would not be joining their cause. Yet.

Meanwhile, I-no had begun to play a haunting melody, a tune that was slowly implanting itself into the minds of the children, while Dizzy flipped through a series of hand seals, and recited a formula.

A Genjutsu was cast on the crowd. They were now loyal soldiers to the cause of Midnight Carnival.

* * *

Naruto got on his bike and drove as fast as he could into the forest.

_"I'm going to talk to Sasuke again, Sakura."_

"_Why? Why are you running away again? Are you scared you're going to lose the orphans too? Do you still think you can't protect anyone anymore?"_

_"I can't be a hero anymore. I already tried that. You saw what happened. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for not trying hard enough."_

"_That's not important! Why are you letting yourself get lost to your memories? Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei…Shikamaru… Hinata… I know they'd forgive you anyways! Why are you still trying to blame yourself more than anybody else?"_

"_I don't know…"_

"_Then go! Go and find out! You always thought best when you were butting heads with someone!"_

Naruto drove as fast as he could, trying to get the noise of the wind to deafen his thoughts.

He nearly ran into an amber blade. He slid his bike out of the way of the blast, though only to hear more deafening music notes and blasts. Naruto stared ahead through the night sky and glare of his bike's headlight to see where the fire was coming from.

They weren't even hiding. There they were standing up ahead, firing at him. I-no on one side jamming on her guitar to release those amber blasts and Naruto, while on the other side, Colt had gripped the handle of his concealed weapon, revealing and firing a beautifully engraved weapon. Naruto knew those weapons were called "firearms" or something. Essentially Katon jutsus in a tube. Loud too.

And there in the center, Dizzy stood, hair and eyes shining in the moonlight between the sounds of gunfire and music notes expectantly, with that same deceptive smile of hers. Hoisted onto one of her shoulders was a thick scroll.

_Shit! They have the Forbidden Seals scroll!_ Naruto sped up even faster, charging at the source of the projectiles, while Raijin fell into his hands and blazed, and a ball of blue swirling chakra, Rasengan twirled in the other.

Up ahead, Midnight Carnival's members continued to fire, until Dizzy stepped forwards towards the oncoming berserker ninja. Waving her hand around, suddenly Dizzy called from the branches of the trees a whole mass of orphaned and dull-eyed soldiers, landing directly in the path between Naruto and his quarry.

_What the hell-_ Naruto didn't really know what to think. All he could really think of was that there were children in the way. Moving on instinct, Naruto tried to turn his bike to the side, but at the speed he was going at all he did was throw himself off and cause his bike to slow down enough to go into a lazy spin the children seemed to be easily avoiding. Dizzy herself easily stepped up and over the twirling machine to walk over to her prey that was rolling across the ground. As the bike approached the two members in the back, Colt simply raised one foot, and the hulking device came to a halt.

The children gathered in a circle around Dizzy and the ninja on his knees. Dizzy nodded.

"I see you took our invitation."

"I'm just here for the kids."

"Hear that, my friends? He's come to take you all away to that miserable world they want you to inherit! Like all ninjas, correct? They all assume they can do whatever they want, and leave the rest of us to pick up after them. We can't allow that to continue any more can we! Let us begin with this one! Purge this sick ninja away…"

One of the zippers on Dizzy's back unpeeled itself, opening itself up like a terrible steel lipped mouth. Escaping from it, a large white-feathered wing burst from the opening, rising above the red-eyed woman like a one-winged angel. Immediately, the wing began reshaping itself like it was made of clay or some malleable material, as feathers disappeared into an ethereal white illusion of skin. Soon enough the entire wing had reshaped into woman-like avatar made of the same ivory color. As Dizzy watched, the white woman raised an open palm, and a gigantic icicle began pouring out of it as a ready-made spear for the Exiled Leaf. Just before it was about to stab, a girl's voice distracted Dizzy.

"Uncle!"

The pause before the winged woman's execution was all he needed to grab the quiet Raijin off the ground and call it to life. Swinging it at Dizzy, she easily flipped away to a rock above him, her reformed wing to shield her if necessary. All the while the children escaped from the beginning of a battle. Naruto suddenly felt something coming towards him, and brought his sword around in time to block an amber blade that was heading for him.

I-no, down the path carved by Naruto's bike, she continued to play her guitar as if this was all a game, while her musical weapon continued to release more of her energy blasts. Beside her, Colt had called out blades to emerge from his back again before charging. Darting this way and that in violet tinged dashes, Colt continued to rush towards Naruto, who could only stand and block I-no's projectiles. As he came within striking distance, Colt gave his war cry and blurred into a leap at the ninja, who managed to dodge the attack.

Naruto continued to block projectiles vainly until Colt's bladed foot clashed against the Kage level chakra sword. Naruto swung and dueled with Colt's purple blades, but their owner easily dashed and flipped around in place around each attack, moving so much faster than the Kyuubi prison, that he still managed to smash a fist into the boy's stomach, knocking him away. As Naruto flipped onto his feet again, he regarded his enemy.

Colt shrugged, and reached for a bottle of aspirin.

Naruto leapt at him, only to find himself caught in a flurry of black trenchcoat, as Colt fell backwards and kicked Naruto away, forcing him in the same direction he leapt in. Tumbling through the air, Naruto fell onto his knees, and found this time a red figure flying through the air at him. Naruto brought up his sword to block the guitar, only to find I-no's flexible legs kicking up and catching him in the jaw. As soon as the kick pushed Naruto away, I-no was already back on her guitar, firing her spears of light. Naruto continued to easily knock the attacks out of the way, but got impatient with the lack of changing situation. Naruto flipped through the air faster than I-no could track, and with the lack of attacks to block, Naruto struck forward with Raijin. The red musician merely hoisted her guitar up by the neck and the blow glanced away. With that I-no jumped over Naruto, leaving him to turn around into another kick.

Down the woods, Colt sneered while the blades on his back arrayed around him.

"Hijutsu: Tidal Wave Scene"

Several of the tendril blades on his back dove into the ground, before bursting in front of him as a wall of violet swords that cut through the ground towards I-no and Naruto.

I-no paused for a moment, as she felt the rush of blades coming towards them. Jumping once more, she descended behind the Tidal Wave, all the while still firing her accursed musical notes. With Raijin, Naruto could still defend himself with no challenge from the projectiles, until all that was left was the mass of purple heading for him.

For the ninja, all he had to do was throw out a single tagged kunai, and with an application of a jutsu, the Tidal Wave met another wall compromised of kunai steel, all papered over with exploding notes. The two forces disappeared in an immense explosion.

Through the smoke, Colt flew through with a drawn back arm full of his swords. Naruto only managed to jerk his head back and jump back from the royal purpled fist headed for his head. While Naruto retreated, I-no jumped down in front of a braced Colt, using her own team member to leap off after the blonde ninja. While Naruto and I-no clashed their weapons, Colt blurred around, hoping to find an opportunity. It came as the orange and red forms spun around a deadlock, forcing I-no away. Leaving the violet shape to suddenly appear suspended in front of Naruto, before two feet slammed into the ninja's chest. As the bladesman flew away from the floating kick, I-no slid under his form, her guitar ready to cave the exile's head in. Naruto brought up his swords to hold against the guitar, but everything he seemed to do brought holes in his defense, as Colt dashed over the top of the heads of the musician and shinobi, to appear at Naruto's back, a blade brought out about to stab him in the back.

Naruto didn't need to think as he pushed chakra into his legs, launching him meters into the air while the two below gaped for a moment. They recovered fast, though, with I-no jumping onto Colt's shoulders. The flat sides of several purple tendril blades reached underneath the red musician's feet, before flinging her upwards towards Naruto. As the two met in the air, Raijin and the blue-green guitar danced around each other again, until I-no held the guitar by its neck, swinging wildly around her like a stone aged club that made Naruto jump away from the duel, the distance enough for I-no to begin playing her guitar at the ninja that was descending to one of the largest trees in the forest.

Naruto swung his sword, cleaving each blade of light until he slammed his back against the bark of the tree. Chakra immediately made him cling to its surface.

"Humph."

Looking down, the shinobi saw Colt's smirk at the base of the tree, before the rest of him swung a gigantic arm blade through the body of the tree, leaving a clean line for the tree to slide down and begin falling from. As the felled column of wood slowly turned on its side, Naruto on top of the falling body, suddenly I-no was on top as well, walking down the length of the tree towards Naruto, firing her amber attacks that were dodged and blocked all the same by the exile.

When the tree fell low enough, Colt jumped up into the fray as well, forcing Naruto and I-no to jump off the tree as well while the wood underneath them suddenly was sliced apart. The three of the rose into the air, Naruto between Colt and I-no as they all swung and sliced at each other. One more time I-no kicked Naruto away, making them shoot in opposite directions while I-no continued to play her guitar and release her blades of light.

Pressing his back against another tree he ran into, Naruto gritted his teeth and looked around. This would all end if he took out the leader. Lo and behold, at his thoughts, he immediately saw out of the corner of his eye the black-white jacket, the blue hair and the white wing protruding out of the back, all together into a coherent Midnight Carnival leader. Naruto flew off the tree, sword gleaming for Dizzy, who stood calmly waiting for her attacker without defending herself.

Itachi's Curse decided to make itself known again right about then. Naruto's face twisted in shock as the pain threw off the aim of his sword.

The second zipper unsealed itself on Dizzy's back, this time a black wing poured itself out of the opening. The two wings together folded and reshaped, until the white wing again was the white maiden of ice, while the black wing formed into a dark, hooded figure with a black wing. A single corpse-like arm held onto a large battle-axe, while red glowed like an eye inside the shadows of the hood. The black wing knocked Naruto's sword away, all the while he could only watch as the white wing formed her spear of ice.

Dizzy walked forward lightly, while her wings above her swung and stabbed at the ninja. The chakra sword he had was the only reason why he was being suspended in the air alive, half dazed and in cursed pain. Eventually, the black wing swung its axe upwards at Naruto with enough force to send him higher into the air, allowing Dizzy to jump up herself to be face to face with the ninaja. His sword was knocked back, unable to be brought back to defend again, and both wings were poised to attack. Naruto stared wide-eyed at his death.

Dizzy smiled and shrugged, and her wings swung down.

A single kunai shot out of the dark and flew between the two airborne figures. A ball was tied to the kunai's ringed handle, and promptly exploded into a spray of powder.

Dizzy screamed and fell to the earth, and on her knees she coughed and choked, "I can't see!" and rubbed her burning eyes.

At the same time, Naruto fell unmoving onto the ground near her, while a giant sized figure fell among the trees, kicking dust and snow up everywhere around a gigantic frog's legs. A giant, long, pink and warted tongue fell from the rising immense toad, and wrapped itself around the unconscious exile protectively. Amber blades flew into the fleshy shield, but only bounced off, some of them even colliding into Dizzy's weakened form, as her wings knocked the attacks away. Colt began to charge, and I-no still fired, but the tongue had already drawn up its subordinate, and the entire gigantic toad leapt away over the horizon of the trees, leaving the three carnival members in the snow, swearing and cursing.

* * *

A fire glowed around a clearing, and two figure sat around it, both familiar with each other, though both had not seen each other in years either.

"…I can't save anyone anymore can I? I couldn't even get the children or Honoko back…"

The larger of the two harrumphed loudly, watching the demeanor of his student, "Well this is a big change. It's hard to think that when I taught you Rasengan, you were a little punk whining about how you were going to get it done in a week."

Naruto smiled at the memory, "That still won't stop me from calling you Ero-Sennin. Is your research still more about women then about important things?"

Jiraiya laughed, "Ha! Only a no-life like you would see a difference in what I research! Still, to tell you the truth, I did have to switch up my priorities a bit. We are living in dangerous times."

"Jiraiya… what's going on?"

"I've been looking up on these Midnight Carnival guys ever since they showed up on the map. From what I could get from Orochimaru's research I obtained, he's apparently the one who made those monsters. They were given to Akatsuki later, when Orochimaru joined. They stayed after he left. Apparently, they were under orders to act as a Sleeper Cell, and activate their mission should anything ever happen to Akatsuki, which it did."

"What do they want?"

"You know of Tayuya and Kidoumaru of the Sound, right?"

"Yes?"

"I rescued them from their clutches recently, nearly dead from severe torture. They apparently found something very interesting in the old Sound Village. You wouldn't believe it."

"What was it? Sasuke wouldn't tell me."

"They found the documents describing two of Orochimaru's prized techniques. The ability to summon souls from the dead like he did in his battle against Sandaime, and the technique used to move a soul from body to body, to prolong life. Midnight Carnival is after both of these."

"Resurrection techniques… Sensei, you mean to tell me-"

"Yes. It is most likely they are preparing to call back and revive the souls of the Akatsuki members."

"Dizzy… what are they…?"

"Hmmm… I don't even want to think what Orochimaru was trying to do."

The conversation stopped there for a while, but Naruto found something else to say in the while.

"Ero-Sennin, I should go talk to the Sound one more time. There's going to be a battle, but I don't know if just fighting it out will help."

"Then why did you come here in the first place? You know it's smarter to let the enemy think they're moving first."

One sentence kept repeating over and over in Naruto's mind.

'_Why are you still trying to blame yourself more than anybody else?'_

"Perhaps… I was trying to forgive myself." The Exile Leaf said to himself, loud enough to be heard by his mentor.

"By making up your failures in the past by succeeding this time?"

"Can sins be forgiven by the dead?"

Jiraiya could only cross his arms and shrug, "That's a question that can only be answered by you. It's the question every ninja faces once in their life."

* * *

The night passed away, and when day came, the Carnival and their brainwashed orphans would be found in the center of Konoha, near a large war monument that was erected recently. Their orders were simple, 'give It up, or we'll blow your goddamn village to pieces.'

Inside their ring of children that kept out the rabble, Colt and I-no watched the enlarging crowd of villagers scream and shout, flying insults and holding the brainwashed children, trying to wake them out of their zealous stupor.

"Get out! Get out you kidnappers!"

"Murderers!"

"Thugs!"

"Get out! Leave now!"

Colt watched quietly, before turning to his companion, "They're not answering."

"Shall I?" I-no chuckled. She was hoping for this.

Colt shrugged and nodded an affirmative.

Towards the screaming crowd, I-no raised an open palm towards them, stilling the noise. A feral grin took her face as she saw them, all ready to die.

"Kuchiyose."

A man in the crowd heard something below his vision, and looked down. Sure enough a black miasma has collected around his feet, before a monster of the same color burst out of it, fangs and claws and all. More of them emerged around the circle of children, and soon enough, the rabble of villagers screamed to a different tune of fear, and tried to escape, as the summoned creatures ran amok amongst them.

Somewhere in the crowd, Sakura looked around confused, as the mass of people blurred her vision and the path to the monument where the children were. But as the crowd thinned, Sakura saw the children, saw the girl with the blonde spiky hair looking face down in a daze.

"Honoko!"

The medic ran towards the girl, past the monsters that were chasing other people, and grabbed the silent child by her shoulders, shaking her lightly.

"Honoko… Honoko!"

The girl looked up, dull eyes trying to remember where it was, "Whe…where….Sa…sa…ku…"

Sakura sighed as she held the confused orphan.

Meanwhile, all the way on the opposite side of the monument, Colt and I-no watched their handiwork with crossed arms. A voice caught their attention.

"Just what the hell are you guys doing?" Sakon called out. Kimimaro as always, was observing from behind for any situation that needed him.

"What do you think?" I-no grinned.

"We're just asking where It is." Colt explained, "Unless, you like to tell us where you hid it."

"Sakon hid nothing." Kimimaro stated vaguely.

"I don't even remember when I forget it anyways!" Sakon sneered and laughed. I-no and Colt didn't react to the words very much.

"You're not a very good liar, you know, you Siamese freak."

"I-no, we should just kill him enough so that he'll tell us."

Sakon loosened up, feeling a battle rising in his instincts, "I'd like to see you try, you half-baked circus sideshows."

* * *

A new building was being constructed in Konoha recently, a skyscraper of the new era. Up on the thirteenth floor of the skeleton building, the Kage of Sound village still in his wheel chair, looked down on the city, and the chaos that was emerging in the center of the it all. Nearby Dizzy approached to watch too, her stolen scroll of seals with her every moment.

"Dizzy… tell me at least one thing."

"Just one thing." The blue haired woman replied as she walked until she stood at the very edge of the floor, the toe of her boot just touching the air.

"You sometimes say you are just the mouthpiece of the rest of the body that will arrive, when you retrieve It. What did you mean?"

"He will return through me… through us."

"Which one?"

"Who knows? Only the Akatsuki knew who to choose to return first. It's so annoying at times. I'm so anxious to know who's coming back first."

"How pitiful. You're sacrificing yourself to a cause you don't even know." Sasuke snorted.

"No matter what you do or think, you're all going to meet the same end. Our leaders have made an empire dedicated to the single cause of cleaning all of you off this world. War or no war, this world always seems as miserable as always. You understand, right? We are the ultimate tools of their fitting. We do everything they tell us to."

"Hmmm… Resurrecting a nightmare?"

"No matter what you do, our ideals will always survive, one way or another, always seeking to complete what you always delay. It is inevitable, the completion of our mission."

"History tends to repeat itself. If that is so, Akatsuki… or whatever you will call yourself one day, feel free to start something as many times as you please. If you'll always be around, so will we, to stop people like you each and every time."

"So… that's your excuse for taking It?" Dizzy wondered, "I sometimes think you're rather regretting going against us."

"Regret?" Sasuke chuckled wheezily, "I'm enjoying these playtimes you people think are battles."

Dizzy unrolled her massive scroll at that, pouring through the scriptures and seals, "Very well then… we should help take the fun out of this for you, then."

Finding something she felt would be particularly nasty, the winged woman pressed her fingers together, before switching the fingers over and over in delicate hand seal formations, over and over and over. When it was finally complete, Dizzy held out an outstretched arm to the gray sky.

"Kuchiyose: Hiryuu Daiou"

Energy encircled the arm before blasting off with a loud noise like a cannon, into the sky. Immediately, the heavyset sky folded and thundered, and the clouds encircled downwards, until a large portion of it lopped off. It continued to float downwards until wiry ropes of air and wind whipped around and gave shape, and the shape became flesh. The flesh combining and roaring into a giant winged beast, like an artistically rendered golem made of life, half way trapped between machinery ingenious and pure magnificent bestial force.

The dragon-likeness spread out its wings as glided towards the chaotic center of the village, the remains of its birthing clouds drifting away. All the while, more and more people began to empty from the square, but Sakura all the while stayed as she tried to shake sense back into the child she held by the shoulders. She was lost as to what the actually accomplish as all this happened, but she knew she could at least do one thing.

"Honoko, we're going to run!"

The medic heard a high-pitched shriek behind her, and she turned to see one of the smaller shadow beasts leaping at her. Sakura spun around, fist balled and reeled back, ready to meet the thing head on into the face-

A gigantic foot fell on top of the leaping beast. Sakura looked up, wide eyed and shocked as the giant winged dragon. Holding the dulled child close to her, Sakura's dark eyes watched the monster roar, before staring at the large monument before it.

_Bahamut, reveal your power to this village. Destroy this structure. _Something whispered to it, _After that, do as you please._

Spreading out its wings, the creature made a flying jump onto the top of the monument, bending metal, crushing stone as it stood atop it.

Meanwhile, Sakon and Kimimaro charged at the two Carnival members, only to stop at the sight of the giant dragon above all of them.

"What the hell is that?" The twin entity shouted at the thing.

"Most likely outside of our ability." The Kaguya provided.

They took that as their signal to retreat. All the while, I-no and Colt looked on. Turning their gaze from the dragon Bahamut back down to the escaping Sound Nins. A purple blade aligned itself with Colt's arm, and the two chased after the other pair.

Along the way, Sakon slid to a halt beside one of the still orphans. "Kimimaro, Otokage-sama said to assist the Leaf!"

"Rescue children?"

Sakon heard something behind him, and saw Colt jump into the air, blade ready to fall into him. "No time to think! Go!" Sakon grabbed the nearest one and ran just in time to avoid the falling bladesman's attack. As this all happened the Bahamut, finally done shredding the outside of the monument to its leisure, decided to end it all. A blue smoke, then a blazing blow glow came to life inside the grinning jaws of the dragon. Flying upwards, the dragon floated above the monument, aiming with its mouth the blow glow it contained. When the aim was perfect, a loud whistle marked the release of the deep blue fireball that collided into the monument, smashing it to pieces in an immense explosion. Sakura used her body to shield the orphans from the explosion and debris, before everyone got picked up by the blast and thrown away. Sakon and Kimimaro as well, they twirled away gasping or with wide eyes along with the children they managed to grab. Behind them, Colt and I-no shot forwards like missiles after them, propelled perfectly by the explosion behind them.

Bahamut roared in victory.

As the explosion died down, amidst the scattered metal and burning rock, Sakon and Kimimaro got to their knees, only to find the children already run away. Whether they lost their brainwashing or not, they could tell.

Behind them, two contemptuously chuckling voices sounded down on them. "This is sooo fun… perhaps this world isn't as boring as I thought." I-no said with licked lips.

"…Really, not at ALL!" Sakon finished his last word with a jump and a kick towards the musician, who dodged out of the way, and flipped away from the attacking Sound Nin. At the same time, Colt hopped away from the attacking Kimimaro, bones shooting out his palms as he chased. As the musician and twin traded blows, I-no eventually stopped an attack heading to the side of her face with an upraised arm as her other shot out suddenly, smashing into Sakon's face and sending him onto his back. Sakon jumped straight back towards I-no, kunai in his hands.

"You guys sure are persistant cockroaches!" The ninja yelled as he attacked, but I-no merely jumped upwards an amazing height, before landing on her feet on the roof of a small building. I-no looked downward.

"You want to get rid of us? Just tell us where It is."

Sakon decided to answer by running up the wall of the building, and flipping through the air to land on top of I-no, who slid away from the assault. Down below, Kimimaro and Colt fought, steel hard bones scraping and sparking of a defending intangible sword.

"You people… what are you planning to do with those techniques?" Kimimaro coldly called out, their swords trapped together above their heads. Colt answered by bringing his other bladed arm into Kimimaro's chest, where it merely struck against something hard, like…bone. Colt looked up with a raised eyebrow, the time enough for Kimimaro to knock the sword above his head out of the way so that he could stab at the Carnival member's head. Colt just leaned his entire body back, pushing upwards at the sword stuck inside Kimimaro. The combined force and momentum of falling was more than enough to hurl the surprised bone user through the air upside down across the street.

As Kimimaro flew down the paved path, I-no and Sakon fought down the roofs of the buildings next to it. Sakon moved speedily, slashing and kicking at the red musician, who seemed to have an easy time pushing aside every attack.

"You guys are really serious about this Reunion or whatever, aren't you?" Sakon sneered as I-no backed away. Sakon attacked again, only to find the red woman spinning away, pinning him between the corner of the roof and the musician herself. Sakon still attacked ruthlessly despite everything, but to I-no's joy.

"All we want to do is to see our dream come true!-" I-no spun around and kicked Sakon away with such force he continued to fly in a straight line off the building.

Down below, Kimimaro slid to a halt while Colt landed on his feet in front of him. "Here on out, those techniques are going to be the way to the future… so where is it?" Colt said slowly, in a dangerous tone on the verge of losing patience.

Kimimaro stood up, only to have a large sign fall onto his head from above. Even with is Bloodlimit, the Kaguya hadn't expected something like that to happen, and so his rattled brain stumbled him around like a drunken fool.

"That fool…" Kimimaro muttered, before the same one he thought off dropped out of the sky on top of him. I-no landed beside Colt just then, and the two of the looked down on the pile of beaten ninja.

Sakon got off first, snorting at the drivel their attackers seemed to keep saying, "Your stupid key to a new era bullshit. You should just shut up about that! I bet Akatsuki wouldn't accept such shitty sacrifices like you!"

This seemed to tick the 'sacrifices' off.

"Hey!" Colt shouted with a start.

"Don't talk about our leaders like that!" I-no glared.

"I should just kill them!"

As the two sound nin stood up, Kimimaro hummed in thought. "Really…"

"Are you suggesting a round two?" Sakon hotly called back, before jumping in the air, not caring for an answer. I-no chased after, while Colt, distracted by the sudden movement, looked up to watch. Kimimaro took the opportunity attack, cutting a deep gash across the side of his face before kicking him, sending him flying for a little. At the same time, I-no heard the scream of pain of her comrade, and was shocked twice over from both the noise and the fact Sakon kicked her down to the ground after. Sakon landed, smirking at his teammate, who coolly looked back. Colt's angry scream turned their eyes back on the previously fallen forms of their opponents, only to see the previously injured man run towards them with a fist entwined with violet. Before they could react, Colt was already slamming his fist into Sakon with enough force to carry him into the Kaguya behind him, and both of them went flying down the street a good several meters before sliding to a halt near the parked bikes of the Midnight Carnival, which was in front of an uncompleted skyscraper.

I-no landed behind the two shinobi as they got up, while Colt stepped up in front. The two gasped for breath, and watched themselves boxed in by ultimately superior foes.

* * *

Honoko woke up to a grated cry of a monster. When she found herself, it surprised her it was on the snowy ground of the village center, an unmoving body next to her, while an arm was on top of Honoko. Pulling herself out from under, the reawakened orphan looked back in shock at Sakura's unmoving form.

"…Sakura?"

"Sakura?"

Still nothing. Sakura wasn't moving at all. Honoko knew immediately who to blame. Turning around in sudden blind teary anger, she screamed at Bahamut, who had landed on the ground in the glory of the burning flames around it. "I hate you!"

She didn't quite know why she started running towards the giant dragon beast that had begun to notice her, but to let this slide was in excusable. So she ran towards the creature, watching it roar again and open its pointed mouth wide enough to swallow her in one go. Sakura woke up at the second cry of the monster, and turned to look in horror at the girl about to run into its mouth-

A hand grabbed the girl's shoulder, stopping her, before reeling back, palm open and firm white eyes glaring at the approaching mouth. The palm shot forward towards the ornamental beak preceding the jaws, and upon slapping it, a large resounding crack of air resulted, while the monster jumped back from the blow.

The man looked down at Honoko, a part of his face allowed to curl upwards into a smile, "You're a little bit too young to fight yet."

Sakura got up at the surprise visit, "Neji!"

The Hyuuga nodded, "You're still recovering. Let the rest of Rookie Nine handle this." With that he ran towards the dragon.

A black form seated on top of a white mass surged past Neji, shouting cockily, "Let's go, Akamaru!"

With that, the gigantic white hound, with the ninja seated on him, leapt up and grabbed a portion of the Bahamut's face with its fangs, clawing and scratching all the while the monster took into the air in pain. Kiba and Akamaru clung on as well.

"Prick! Don't think because you're bigger, you're better!" Kiba shouted at the head of the monster. In moments, the gigantic mass shook off Akamaru's grip, dropping the two to the ground in a yelp before bouncing to their feet, ready to pounce at it again as it landed.

As Bahamut watched the ninja and his dog, a sudden blast of compressed air smashed into the side of its face, knocking it over, while the dog riding ninja jumped away. The monster turned back to the white-eyed ninja, who held an outstretched palm that fired the blast of air. Neji lowered his arm and watched without any reaction as the creature winged and stomped over to crush him.

Right on time, several kunai fell from the sky, each tagged with explosive notes and smoke bombs, peppering the head and the rest of the body with explosions. The monster shrieked and Neji looked upwards with a smirk.

Above him, dropping from a parachute that camouflaged with the sky, the unrivaled queen of weapons of Konoha dropped down, her large scroll of sealed arsenals in tow.

"You're late Tenten." Neji noted.

"Be quiet. I saved you from doing more work, right?" Was the sarcastic reply before Tenten ran forward to deal with Bahamut as well.

All the while, Sakura and Honoko watched, the younger wide-eyed in disbelief. "Who…was that?"

Sakura just shrugged and right after, several of the surviving smaller shadow monsters made themselves known, leaping and screaming at the surprised pair.

Above, a giant mass fell on top of one of them. With a war cry and an enlarged fist swung, the remaining of them flew away like rubber balls. The large man looked back at the two.

"Ah, Sakura! Sorry I came so late! Maybe when this is over we can catch up over an all you can eat or something! Later!"

With the quick and characteristic apology, Chouji ran to join the battle as well.

"This would make an interesting story…" An elderly voice debated to itself. Sakura looked behind her to see the last Sannin walking towards the scene as well, apparently more than willing to participate.

"Who are all these people?" Honoko raised an eyebrow.

Sakura chuckled, "They're all our friends."

Honoko could only wonder how her foster figure found all these people. Noticing a familiar hum of an engine, she looked back and watched in glee as Naruto slowed to a stop in front of her and Sakura.

"It's good to see your both safe." Naruto grinned. The medic in question shrugged an 'well-you-know'.

"Neh… Sakura…" Naruto spoke up again, watching Bahumut flap its wings and fly towards the skyscrapers.

"Yes?"

"When this is all over… I'll need your help…"

"For what?"

"For keeping me from… getting lost in my memories again." Naruto hummed. Sakura watched in surprise at the change, before smiling and nodding.

"Hey, Uncle!" The orphan's voice chirped up again. Both ninjas turned to the orphan, "I'll go back to the orphanage first, okay? I'll wait for you."

"Sure."

With that Honoko ran off, following the remaining escaping crowds. She suddenly remembered something.

"Oh yeah! Uncle?"

"Yeah?"

"You will be coming for Christmas this year, right?"

"Of course… It's my ninja way."

Honoko smiled and with that, ran off once more. Sakura watched on for a little while, but soon after jumped onto the bike and seated herself behind the blonde ninja. Revving up the bike, Naruto drove down the street, heading to the battlefield between Rookie Nine and Bahamut.

* * *

"Hakke: Kuushou!" Neji, standing atop one of the horizontal beams, released another blast of air, directed at the ball of blue flame that was released by the dragon toward him. Though the compressed air was powerful, the fireball merely pushed through, leaving Neji to gasp and jump away before the beam and everything below it exploded. While the monster flew above, the Hyuuga landed on a twisted bar of metal. From the flames meanwhile, Jiraiya burst through, riding the air atop a man sized frog and facing Bahamut while his hands blurred in seals. At the same time, the frog expelled a stream of black oil, the frog Sannin fired a blast of a fire technique turning the hose of black grease into a stream of immensely powerful flames. The monster only roared in annoyance, but flew through the flames nonetheless.

As the monster continued on, Chouji ran along side on top of a horizatonal bar the same level as the dragon's back. In a leap, he yelled and enlarged his hands, using them to grip onto the dense neck of the dragon. Bahamut roared on the pressure on its back, and noticed a tall tower useable to rid it of the presence. Gliding sideways, Chouji looked with shock as he saw him about to be smashed between a metal tower and the back of Bahamut.

"Gotcha!" In a split second, Akamaru's jaws grabbed the back of the large ninja's collar, and flew off to safety with a cheer from Kiba, while the monster smashed through the pillar of steel. Bahamut floated a moment longer before clinging to the side of one tower with a furious cry, still trying to find the location of its puny attackers. It took off again, flying between the girders and beams, while white-haired hermit chased after it, firing potshots at it. As the dragon turned around to chase Jiraiya, he retreated, and somewhere in the background Tenten flipped backwards, and released a supporting array of her own blades at the distracted summon. Eventually, the creature trapped the Sennin on a single girder it proceeded to pulverize. But instead of finding itself crushing flesh and bone, it found only ninja smoke and wood. Up above, Jiraiya fell onto the shoulder of the immense dragon, a ball of swirling blue energy in his hand with which he proceeded to drive into the face of Bahamut. As the monster clawed and shook his head, the old man easily danced around the swipes, and continued to attack with whatever he had present.

Running up the side of a tower, Tenten watched for an opportunity to cover Jiraiya's retreat from his turn at the monster. Suddenly seeing it, she leapt off her surface and flung a large spear at Bahamut's head while it landed, scraping its surface. While Jiraiya leapt away, Kiba and Akamaru jumped on, grabbing onto to the lower jaw of the dragon, forcing it to back away for a second in pain.

The moment the weapons queen landed, she found her self face to face with the dragon's head, which already burned with blue flame, just seconds away from incinerating her. Suddenly above them all, Chouji cried out with an enlarged fist. The ninja fell fist first on top of the dragon's head, jerking it upwards in time for the blue blast to barely burn above the top of Tenten's head, as it flew into a junction of metal joining together.

Below, Neji was smashing several small shadow beasts away with his palms, when he noticed the explosion above him. He turned up and looked at the falling wreckage, before suddenly force to turn back and slam back two more beasts. By then it was already too close to escape, and Neji tensed up, ready to use his defensive technique.

"Hakke: Kai-"

An orange form jumped by Neji and grabbed him by the collar, carrying the both of them away from the flaming debris. Dropping Neji off one another beam, Naruto landed, amidst the shout from the Hyuuga about how he took long enough.

Nearby, Sakura joined Jiraiya and Chouji, who were both waiting for Bahamut's next move.

Naruto didn't wait. With a single leap, he fell towards the gigantic winged monster that noticed soon enough the orange shape with the yellow sword. Making for each other, the blonde swung first. Bahamut caught Raijin's blade by the teeth, surprising the Uzumaki for a few seconds before a second one exploded into exsistence with a kick into the dragon's face, forcing it to let go. Nudging the small shape away with its detailed beak, Bahamut surged forwards after the boy, who defended against its biting jaws and charges while slamming his sword against it steel like head, erupting sparks from the clashes.

Jumping away, the Exile Leaf landed on a metal beam ahead of the rampaging beast, since he could not hurt the monster with his current ability. As Bahamut closed in, Naruto mediated within himself for a second before a subtle glow of orange chakra began to pour from his body, enriching Raijin's yellow blade with a tinge of a second color. As Bahamut smashed into the platform, Naruto leapt upwards, twirling into a downward slash at the dragon's head. The blow severely incensed the summon, who chased upwards at Naruto, who barely managed to keep jumping off the ascending head of the dragon to avoid being bitten in two. Leaping once more, Naruto brought his sword above him high, his whole body concentrating the orange chakra into his sword. Bringing it down, the sword was actually powerful enough to collide with Bahamut's head forcefully, sending it downwards to the ground, smashing through beams and pillars until the landed on the ground.

As Naruto landed, everyone watched the fallen beast, as it pitifully tried to move to its feet like an insect on its back. Soon enough, the wings folded enough for the beast to gather itself to its feet. Roaring in frustration and anger, the dragon decided to end it all, all the while blue energy formed in its mouth once more. Everyone watched in shock as Bahamut, mouth still flaming, took to the sky.

He would burn the entire city to the ground.

* * *

Up on the thirteenth floor, Dizzy watched amusedly at the observed havoc. Turning her back to the leader of Sound Village for a second, she laughed for a second.

"Enjoying the show, ninja? What do you think I should call out next-" Dizzy turned around, and the sentence was cut short by her shock.

Sasuke was standing like his previous condition in the wheel chair never existed. Throwing the heavy shawl off his shoulders, the Uchiha smirked through his own red eyes and over-bandaged body. In his hand he held loosely an aged scroll.

Dizzy's eyes widened, "Give that to me now!"

"You should have noticed it sooner, you fool woman with no common sense." Sasuke sneered, before nonchalantly tossing the scroll off the side of the building, to its doom thirteen floor down. Dizzy looked down in horror, before looking back up in pure anger.

"How dare you…!" The black wing unfurled to existence as the grim avatar at the blue haired woman's anger, and unleashed her tension at the ninja.

* * *

Bahamut chased up the tallest tower to sky, and Naruto chased after. Leaping up himself, he noticed among the rafters Neji, hand outstretched. Hands together, Neji swung the blonde further up. "Go Naruto!"

Noticing something underneath it, Bahamut swung its tail, smacking Naruto out of his flight and dropping him. Nearby, Chouji curled up one of his immense fists, and as Naruto landed his feet on it, the large ninja punched upwards, sending Naruto back up.

One after another, Kiba and Akamaru, Tenten, Jiraiya, they all flung him further and faster up the tower towards Bahamut in the sky, ready at any moment to fire.

"Go for it, Naruto!"

"Get him!"

"Do me proud!"

As Bahamut dived downwards, Naruto was nearly there and watched Sakura jump out, her own hand open. Grabbing each other, the medic looked Naruto straight in the eye.

"You're coming back."

With that, her own strength tossed Naruto one more time at Bahamut. Soon, it was only the two of them in the sky as they hurtled towards each other.

Bahamut fired first, his giant blue ball of energy falling downwards towards the small orange shape. The immense size of the blast would be enough to decimate Konoha in a single blow.

Naruto continued his course towards the blast, and dove straight into the energy. Inside he could feel himself slowly burning away, waiting inside the energy to find the end, to try and find the weakness the pierce his way out. He continued on for seemingly forever, pulling everything he had together to push through.

But where was the end…

_Do you have someone important to you, Naruto? Once you find that precious person…that's where true strength comes from…_

_You may be a failure… but don't forget to be proud… never forget our ninja way, Naruto…_

**TCH, SO YOU FLY HEADFIRST INTO A BALL OF DEATH TO GET ME TO GIVE YOU MY CHAKRA? YOU ONLY NEEDED TO ASK. IDIOT BOY.**

There was the end.

Something orange burned inside the blue, and soon enough, a blazing orange comet burst out of the dissipating ball of energy, Naruto at its very tip, with an immense blade of Chakra.

Bahamut roared in anger and surged downwards to ram into Naruto. He only grinned and held his sword tighter.

"Eat SHIT!"

Passing by the head, the immense Raijin pierced into the back of the summoned dragon, ripping open its flesh to reveal the weak blue energy within. Running down to the very end of the tail, Naruto practically split the beat into two, while it slowly began to deform into blue energy, slightly real mass, slightly summon material from another plane of exsistence.

Sakura and the others watched the beast fall apart into nothingness while it crashed into ground, disappearing totally. Staring for a second, the medic looked up with a smile at her former teammate, who flipped once more and landed on one knee.

Naruto only had a few deep breaths to collect himself when he noticed one of the new buildings glowing bright blue…

* * *

Sasuke threw himself to the side to avoid the blast of energy that was head for his chest. Falling out of the opening of the building, Sasuke began folding handseals.

"Katon: Housenka."

Dizzy watched both the scroll and the man fall, despite small fireballs flying upwards towards from the ninja's mouth. Dizzy immediately jumped out as well, chasing after the scroll.

Somewhere below, Sakon and Kimimaro watched in shock at their Kage fall from the building. Naruto, already on his bike towards the scene watched a man and a woman fall. Sasuke continued to fire his mythical fire flowers at Dizzy below him, while she vainly tried to reach for the scroll just out of her reach. Every attempt was unsuccessful.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, finally impatient, and deliberately shot one fireball past Dizzy's ear. The winged woman could only watch on in horror as part of the scroll immediately caught fire and burned slightly. Before the damage could do any worse, Dizzy grabbed the burning scroll, extinguishing it with the pressure of her hand.

From adjacent rooftops, a revived Kidoumaru spat a long web across the side of the building, the other end caught by a revived Tayuya. The net of white stopped Sasuke's fall.

Dizzy however, needed no protection. Both her wings unfurled and slowed her descent in seconds, landing her lightly on her feet. Sakon and Kimimaro backed away defensively, while Dizzy's comrades gathered slightly.

A quick inspection showed, miraculously, minor damage. Some sections were singed badly, but Midnight Carnival got what they wanted.

Victory…victory?

Dizzy heard something down the road, and to her disgust, along with her partners, she saw the orange ninja driving down the street towards them. He was obviously intending to stop them now. Now they had to escape Konoha.

Running to their bikes, Dizzy, with the scroll, jumped on first and took off, while the others revved up slower. As Naruto flew past, the other two bikers took up chase as well.

All four of them drove as fast as they could, trying to catch up with each other as they headed northwards, towards the cliffs. Weaving and dodging, Dizzy in the lead did all she could to shake her tailgater off, but to no avail.

Baring her teeth, Dizzy turned a tight corner towards the old wall that used to protect the village from the outside. A portion of it next to the wall had caved in, leaving a small path beside the sheer rock wall. Ignoring the sign saying to not pass through, Dizzy bulldozed through, leading all of them into the forest, rock wall on one side.

Ducking under the flying sign Naruto chased on, before noticing I-no on her bike catching up on one side, while she un-slung her guitar. Strumming the strings of her instrument, the red musician released her blades of light at the ninja on his bike, forcing him to slow down and swerve out of her aim towards the rock wall. Immediately, Colt slowed down and slammed his bike into Naruto's, pinning him between the rocky wall and his own bike. In this position, the man in the black trench coat sneered with an arm sprouting a blade. A moment before he stabbed, he heard 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu', and suddenly Colt was kicked away, bike and all by several feet. Naruto sped ahead, pulling out Raijin's handle.

Up ahead, I-no spun her bike around so that it slide sideways, while she continued to jam out notes on her guitar. Blocking her amber lances, Naruto rammed into I-no's bike, sending them both into a spin while guitar and chakra sword sparked in each other's grasp. Amidst I-no's sickening delighted chortle, Naruto growled and pushed her guitar away, separating their bikes into individual tailspins. Naruto had better control, and leaving a cursing I-no behind in the dust to regain control of her swerving bike, Naruto forged ahead after Dizzy's ride.

Looking backwards and seeing the boy still after her, Dizzy in her desperation to escape him, drove up a steep natural path to the top of the cliff. Naruto aligned his bike to follow after her. Just as he was about to drive up himself, Colt slide up between him and the ramp and leapt upwards off his bike.

Naruto looked up in shock, while purple blades arose all over the arms of the bladesman in the air. With a loud shout, Colt shot downwards, smashing into the ground where Naruto had just been, had he not spun out of the way again.

Seeing the ramp already out of view behind him, Naruto could only narrow his eyes and spin his bike around to chase Dizzy from the ground. Colt himself snorted at the missed attempt, while I-no passed by. His own bike, still vertical, came up from behind as well, allowing Colt to jump backwards into the seat of the moving vehicle and continue chasing the blonde ninja.

Dizzy glared downward at Naruto, who looked up for a second at the woman. Soon enough the trees closed in and darkened the path and blocked the view of the top of the cliff. Naruto now could only hope he could hold off his pursuers and intercept the winged woman with the scroll on the other side of the cliff.

Continuing on in the darkness, Colt drove towards the cliff wall, coming up with a new use for it in attack. With enough speed and courage, the bike tilted sideways and against gravity, drove up the side of the cliff. Naruto watched on in caution while the other man continued to gain height. Soon enough, Colt leapt off his bike while still on the wall, falling on top of the Exile Leaf's bike, blade first. Naruto brought up Raijin in time to block the attack, while the bike spun around and Colt groaned with effort to press Raijin back. While I-no shot past the deadlocked pair, Naruto and Colt's swords continued to cross until the shinobi managed to shove Colt off the bike. As the Carnival melee expert jumped backwards, he landed on the likewise Carnival projectile users bike before making another leap for his bike. All the while I-no spun around to face Naruto as she fired her the makeshift bullets of her guitar, delaying Naruto as he knocked them away one by one. Soon enough, Naruto closed in, swinging his sword at I-no's narrow dodging face, while the two bikes spun around each other, dueling with their amber lances and chakra swords. Blocking each one, Naruto brought down his sword onto I-no, blocking the sword with her guitar, while the bikes drove trapped to each other side by side.

As Colt landed on his bike, he summoned forth several blades into one hand and smashed the violet weapons into the ground, gashing it for several feet before it stopped. Gripping the bike with both his legs, Colt transferred the momentum of the bike into a gigantic swing. The swing held enough force for the man to circle about with the bike between his legs before releasing his grip. The bike flew downward back towards the other two.

As the flying block of gasoline and metal flew backward, Naruto watched in surprise at the vehicle flying toward them. Looking back at I-no, the red musician merely snorted in contempt before breaking off her block, while she slid sideways back toward the flying machine. Leaning backward, she let the bike narrowly pass over her body while she played a single guitar note, one amber blade the chase after Naruto if he deliberated as to what to do with the bike.

But Naruto didn't deliberate with a sword in his hands. Standing on his bike, he made a single leap toward the machine, just jumping over the blade of light. Raising Raijin over his head Naruto only needed to focus, and he cleaved the chassis of the bike in two, letting him fly between the halves.

"Heh." Colt was already in the air in his face, blade at ready. Flipping over the slicing blade, Naruto appeared at Colt's back kicking the bladesman toward the bike. Instinctively grabbing on the falling hull, Colt realized the mistake he made while gasoline poured from the open fuel tank, and electrical circuits jumped from one end to another inside the cloud of easily flammable-

The bike exploded.

I-no watched on in annoyance as the two pieces of flaming wreckage continued to fall. Soon enough though, the quiet whisper of "Stag Hunting Scene" marked the appearance of a purple blur escaping from the burning pile.

Naruto dropped back onto his bike that passed underneath, the same moment Colt stood atop it as well. Before he knew it, the ninja found his collar being grabbed by one hand, while another delivered an uppercut into the jaw. Launched into the air, Naruto felt himself kicked from place to place, while a violet shadow moved from place to place, beating him. Eventually Colt grabbed him by the collar again and threw him into his bike. But before Naruto even fell onto his own bike, I-no already had swerved into the way, knocking the bike away while firing her blades at the descending Naruto. Bringing Raijin up, the attacks at the flying shinobi only cause him to fly away. I-no leapt from her own bike after Naruto.

Dodging an attack by the violet shadow, Naruto blocked another attack before kicking Colt away. Realizing he I-no was also coming in from the other side, he reached behind him while both Colt and the musician headed toward hi from opposite sides. A spark of light, and Naruto was holding a purple blade and a guitar from his face with both Raijin and a much smaller Kunai. The three of them spun around in the air while they clashed their locked blades and punched at each other.

On either side, Colt and I-no sneered and laughed at Naruto's pinned condition. It would only be a second later they paid for it finally.

Throwing out his arms, Naruto caught the two Carnival members off guard, tossing them helplessly into the air beside him. With a growling yell, the ninja spun around, kunai and sword, slashing and feeling his blades cutting through with success.

Colt fell from the air, his once thought unbreakable blades sliced to pieces of his body. The tendrils on his back especially, fell to pieces, destroying his Stag Hunting Scene. I-no herself dropped back onto her bike, and swerved to catch her teammate. Trying to recover from everything, the on the bike slid to a stop.

They watched as Naruto fell on his bike and drove on. Colt and I-no gasped for relief and groaned. The musician herself looked down at her instrument. A moment later she disgustedly tossed her smoking and halved instrument to the ground. Turning her bike around to Colt's momentary surprise, she then sped after Naruto, determined to do anything to stop him, even without their weapons.

* * *

Dusk was falling on the land, and Dizzy continued to speed down the cliff. Eventually her cliff dramatically leveled downwards until she was at the bottom of the ravine, while the ground below the cliff previously, now rose above her head to form the wall of the ravine she was in. Because of the height of the rocky cliffs, she failed to notice two Sound nins above.

Sakon and Kimimaro stood their ground on the side of the cliff, watching the approaching shadows of Naruto and the other bike tailing him.

"Sakon, Ukon. You are both ready to perform this?" Kimimaro glanced over to the twin entities.

"We're more than ready for pay back to those bastards." Sakon spoke for both of them.

"…Very well."

Up ahead, Naruto continued forward, passing the two ninjas without any trouble.

For I-no and Colt, they watched something very wrong occur.

"Alpha."

"Beta."

"Kuchiyose: Rashoumon!"

The bike sped forward toward a demonic locked gate, unable to stop in time. They heard a second voice just as they were about to impact-

"Dance of the Seedling Ferns."

Down below, Dizzy would hear an explosion, and see behind her a ball of fire next to a giant wall, and inside a forest of white trees. The explosion was great enough to make a good portion of the ravine wall above her crumble away, and she watched in anger, as amongst the stones that fell, one of them was a bike with Naruto on it, while he fell straight towards her, sword raised above him.

Sliding her bike on its side, she let Raijin fall on top of her white wing, stopping the sword. The two continued to slide across the ravine until they noticed both of them approaching a sheer drop. Doing nothing, Dizzy and Naruto fell off the ravine, and into a steep slope that marked the side of the Valley of the End, the boundary between Konoha and the old Sound Village.

The remaining member of Midnight Carnival looked down to where she would be sliding to a halt before hearing Naruto's bike close in. Looking back up, she saw the blonde reel back Raijin to stab her. In retaliation, her own white wing reformed into the woman like shape, a spear of ice in her hand.

The two swords stabbed at each other.

Unfortunatly, fate laid on Dizzy's side this time, as Raijin narrowly passed by Dizzy's arm, while her white woman and spear ripped through the shoulder fabric of Narutos' jacket. Pushing each other away, Naruto spun around wildly while Dizzy grinned back at him, folding her wing away. Upon the bottom of the valley, Dizzy sped away, while Naruto spun to a narrow halt beside the river that ran through the center. The Exiled Leaf spluttered and gasped as he momentarily stowed Raijin, and watched Dizzy drive down the river. Soon enough, the river would narrow and be shallow enough to cross. There, the road would lead to the ruins of the old Sound Village. That was what Dizzy most likely planned.

Glaring at the disappearing biker, Naruto turned back to his own injury. Tearing the ruined sleeve off he looked on in annoyance at the black tattoos that crawled across his arm, just stopping at his wrist.

The cut on his shoulder seemed superficial. It wouldn't stop him.

With that, Naruto drove to the Sound Village.

Time to finish this.

* * *

The falling red sun cast dark shadows and painted the roofs and ruined walls of the abandoned village. It made Naruto think of the color flesh was. All around him, stones were strewn and rubble rose to the sky. War was waged here once. All that remains are the after effects of the jutsus that destroyed the place. Running through the center of the village, like a wound in the earth, a gigantic rift was split through the center of the village.

The Shinobi swung himself off his bike, and kept Raijin in his hands at all time. Up ahead, he could see Dizzy's bike parked near a building. On the roof, stood the last of the Midnight Carnival, wind blowing through her hair, while she held the scroll in one hand.

"It's over, Uzumaki. Go home and leave us in peace." She shouted out.

"Do you even have any idea what you're about to unleash into the world?" Naruto cried back.

"The glory of a thousand years through me, through the glory of them."

"So you don't really know anything outside of your orders and proganda… you're just a mindless tool whose been fed lies."

Dizzy looked darkly down on the ninja, "So I'm just a tool… you really think so…" Just then, both her wings ripped out of her back, black and white.

Naruto tensed up.

"Then the reason you're here… is to be the sacrifice!" Dizzy shouted. Just then her black wing formed into the cloaked man, its single corpse arm releasing several bolts of energy at the still Shinobi.

Just as the blows fell, Naruto jumped high above, Raijin blazing. Dizzy grimly smiled and jumped up herself, her wings at ready. The two bounced off each other as they danced in the sky, before they twirled into the ground. Spinning away out of the way of another blow, Dizzy taunted to the Exiled Leaf. Naruto swung down at her, and in a swift movement, she leapt up and escaped to a higher level.

Naruto chased after him, right into Dizzy's expecting weapons. Clashing and dodging, Naruto smashed his sword against Dizzy's white wing, while the black used the opening to attack. Just before that would happen, a single kunai flew from the background towards the winged woman, forcing her to block. Naruto shoved Dizzy away and attacked again.

Above them, Rookie Nine and the last of the Sannin watched.

"Jiraiya-sama, why are we waiting around?" Tenten protested, as they watched helplessly at the lone pair fighting.

"I agree. We should use any opportunity to gain the upperhand."

"No. Naruto needs to fight this battle alone." Jiraiya firmly decided.

"Why?"

The legendary frog hermit though a moment, "This may very well be the last of Akatsuki, he's fighting. This battle could regain his old self."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kiba snorted.

"You all remember how Naruto was like. Ever since those wars against Akatsuki, he lost something… his ninja way perhaps." Sakura offered, "But ever since then, he's been trying prove to himself he's still worth something. That's why it would be hard for him if we suddenly came in and helped. He may not know it… but he wants to know he can still run down a path without looking back. That's why he needs to figure this out for himself."

"What's all that mean?"

"I don't know! Just understand, right?"

"Sort of…"

"I may not understand so well," Neji nodded, "But if this is as important to getting Naruto back as you say, we should let him find out for himself. Pull back until the situation turns red."

* * *

Down in the battlefield, Naruto jumped for his sword that was buried in the wall when Dizzy knocked it away. Flipping onto one of he taller towers, Naruto felt the subtle presences jump away. For a moment, he felt this strange feeling, like they understood something about him he didn't. Naruto merely curled a smile slightly before turning his attention to Dizzy.

Leaping through the air towards the woman that vaulted into the sky, the two of them clashed while they flew towards the roof of another building. Landing they danced about each other, spear and axe and chakra ringing against each other, sparking. The white avatar of Dizzy blocked Naruto's sword with her spear once more, while the black wing swung downward with his axe. Naruto merely stopped that attack by stretching his hand out and catching the handle of the axe, stilling the action once more.

Breaking off their holds, the two leapt from each other to the opposite sides of the roof. Finally impatient with this nonsense, Dizzy glared and ran leapt high into the air. Naruto below merely spun his sword around him a few times and waited. Dizzy screamed for his death while her wings bared their blades. Just a moment before she even touched him, she saw him snap to a focus she never saw before, and before the winged woman could realize anything, Dizzy was flying away. Raijin destroyed the magic of the wings, leaving them in their original feeble appendages on her back. As she twirled in the air uncontrollably, she managed to fall towards the crevice, only barely finding a handhold with one hand. She hung from the cliff, defeated, her only solace in the scroll she still managed to hold in one hand, while the other gripped at the wall of the cliff.

Dizzy looked down and whimpered something incomprehensible, trapped between anger and frustration and fear of death without sacrifice. Hearing something land above her, Dizzy looked up to find the ninja standing above.

"It's over, Dizzy."

She smiled back, a plan forming in her head. "Our mission always survives with each of Midnight Carnival…"

Dizzy let go. Falling towards the bottom of the split in the world, she pulled out a kunai in her free hand.

Naruto would have certainly expected her to attack.

Not to stab herself in the chest.

"We're all tools… to bring them back…" Dizzy choked out, while the scroll unfurled in her hands. Naruto's eyes widened at her plot, and jumped down after her, trying to finish her off for good before-

Hand seals from Dizzy after she studied the scroll quickly. "Kuchiyose… Edo… Tensei…"

With that, Dizzy closed her eyes. As Naruto chased after the corpse, it suddenly righted itself up as it crashed against the other side of the crevice. Naruto, seeing his chance, struck.

His hand holding the sword was caught by a man's hand. Dizzy's entire body had been transformed, Akatsuki coat fluttering about him, while the pair of eyes stared back into Naruto's deepest pit of his soul.

"Greetings… Naruto-kun."

_Sharingan, oh shi-_

A single kick launched Naruto upwards, up out of the crevice, and landing him roughly on his feet, while someone familiar jumped up as well, landing on a pillar above Naruto.

"Goddamn… why you…" Naruto growled.

"Interesting. You still survived with my curse." Itachi's eyes commended.

"Are you here to bring back Akatsuki?"

"It appears the back-up group performed admirably. Akatsuki has chosen me to be their successor. Now it appears my first duty is to capture you, Naruto."

"Just like old times?" Naruto sneered.

"If you wish to think of it that way."

Jutsu's exploded all over the ruins of Orochimaru's kingdom. Naruto and Itachi leapt alongside each other, swinging at each other. Itachi easily jerked this way and that, avoiding each of Naruto's sword swipes, until kicking him away. Naruto flew straight through the wall of a multi story building, dropping dust everywhere. Picking himself up, Naruto watched as Itachi swept into the opening, charging towards the blonde. Naruto lashed out with his sword, forcing Itachi back for a second before the Akatsuki ninja struck out with a kick. Naruto jumped back, and Itachi chased him through the gutted shell of the building. The two jumped at each other periodically, sparks of light release as pure chakra impacted against a kunai that popped out of a sleeve strategically before disappearing. The Exile Leaf ducked out of the way when Itachi appeared all of a sudden, a sort of intense gaze on where Naruto escaped, as the place burst into black flames. Charging towards each other, the two locked blades with such intensity the ground around them split from their feet digging into them.

"You've grown stronger, Naruto-kun." Itachi blandly noted.

"Yeah… I bet you want to suck that out of me too, bastard!" The one in question growled as he shoved Itachi with enough force to knock him through the wall, back into the outside. Naruto pursued.

Landing on the roof of the building opposite of the one he exited, Naruto looked around, until he hear and explosion. Turning behind him he watched an old security tower burst into black flames and fall towards him. Jumping away, the tower crushed the building below it. On the littered streets, Itachi met Naruto again, swinging their weapons at each other. Naruto blocked each successive swipe before jumping up, falling to the ground on top of Itachi's disappearing form with a downward slash the gashed the now empty ground. Naruto looked up onto another roof Itachi escaped too, before seeing the entire face of the building collapsing downward on him. Naruto leapt away once more, this time the Akatsuki ninja pursuing. Slashing at each other, the two fell towards the crevice in the ground again. Itachi kicked Naruto off him, and watched him descend at the same pace into the darkness, above him.

"Everytime I see you, you seem to change. Interesting." Itachi noted while cutting a large section of rock he passed by, and kicked it upwards to smash into the blonde. All it did was get cleaved into two again as Naruto flung himself downward at the undead Uchiha. Meeting again at a crossed blade, Itachi mused.

"You still haven't seemed to gain any understanding from my present, though…" Itachi threw the Kyuubi container off, leaving Naruto to spin downward wildly before using chakra and his feet and slam into the side of the crevice and stay there. Above him, Itachi stared. Naruto bared his teeth at him.

"If you haven't, lie down in pity, and suffer…"

At that command, it seemed the entire sheer face of one side of the crevice began to crumble to pieces, dropping large portions of stone toward Naruto. Itachi merely turned around and burned a path through the falling debris, disappearing inside the dust.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, and charged head first into the falling mass. Slashing the stones apart with Raijin, the Uzumaki continued upwards, until one stone disintegrated into ash, Itachi just behind it, dropping straight for him. They met their weapons together, and together they dropped onto a larger platform of rubble that was heading for the bottom. They circled each other for a moment before the stone split, forcing them to jump somewhere else. Jumping amidst the falling stones, Naruto and Itachi collided into each other, bouncing from one stone to another. Eventually landing on two boulders opposite of each other, Naruto and Itachi struck at each other again and again, dancing and sparking.

A giant boulder came between them, though. As soon as Itachi glared it away into burning black cinders, he found his quarry gone. He knew why though.

Escaping from the collapsing gap in the earth, Naruto gasped in pain, while the tattoos on his body began to smoke once more. His entire body burned in pain.

_Goddamn, you cheap bastard…_Naruto grimaced on one knee. He barely jumped away from a falling foot to his back when Itachi caught up. Unable to keep up with the pain and his dulled reflexes, Itachi's foot met Naruto's face, or a fist into his stomach, and so forth as the resurrected Akatsuki pummeled Naruto until a disabling kick smashed him against the wall. A moment later, several kunai would pin the boy to the wall like a trophy display. Naruto hissed in pain and glared at the silent man, Sharigan eyes and red-clouded cloak mixing together in a blend of red and black.

"Is there anything important to you, Naruto-kun? What precious person you say you have? Which one will you give me the pleasure of allowing you to say good-bye to?"

_You will be coming for Christmas this year, right? Do you have someone important to you, Naruto? Once you find that precious person…that's where true strength comes from…You may be a failure… but don't forget to be proud… never forget our ninja way, Naruto…That's not important! Why are you letting yourself get lost to your memories? I promise to run down that path…never look back…and protect…_

"Fuck YOU!" Naruto growled, as he pulled himself out of the kunai pining him. Swinging Raijin, Naruot forced Itachi back.

"Someone like you… you'd never understand…" Naruto murmured, staring straight at Itachi.

The Akatsuki was silent for a second, before charging forwards at the bleeding fox. Naruto swung at his enemy, but Itachi easily flipped over the attack, landing on the wall that pinned Naruto previously. From there he launched himself into the air. Naruto quickly followed, red chakra beginning to bleed off him.

"I'm not letting you take away the world!"

Soon enough, Itachi awaited Naruto, whose red chakra consumed his body like a second shell, bleeding off ears and nine tails behind him. Readying his sword, Naruto pointed the Kyuubi-Raijin at Itachi.

Unexpectedly, the red blade shot out like a tendril, catching Itachi in its grasp by the head, bathing his vision in red. Naruto pulled down his sword, forcing Itachi into point blank range. Flipping their positions, Naruto on top now, Itachi could only watch, and as red swirled inside the fox's other hand with a feral scream.

"Oodoma RASENGAN!"

Itachi brought his arms up to defend, but two giant swirling ball of burning red energy drilled into the reanimated corpse. The two bodies fell to the ground with a gigantic explosion, kicking up dirt and rubble into the sky for miles.

When it all cleared, Naruto stood in the crater, back to normal. Buried in its center, Itachi lay.

"Leave Itachi. Never come back."

"…Fool… Akatsuki does not stop because of only this…" Itachi murmured. Soon enough the entire body lost color, turning to a dull gray. Dust fell from the body, and eventually all that was left was the broken body of the winged woman. It suddenly coughed to life, shrieking. Blood poured out of her body freely, while she tried to get to her knees.

"You…you… I'll…ah…" the dying woman rose for a second before, collapsing. Naruto caught her as she fell. "…Why…"

"Dizzy… stop trying to be an enemy for now… just… die in peace…"

The blue hair swept about her face as she coughed, "Thank you… for… compassion…"

She coughed a few more times, and Naruto watched her eyes dull and her smile begin to freeze, while she looked up into the snowing sky. Naruto felt his body strangely warm for some reason, and looked at his arm. There, the black tattoos began to recede and fade into nothingness. All the while, he held her now lifeless body.

_Wha-? Itachi's curse…why is it…why is he…?_

Watching from the perimeter of the village, Rookie Nine cheered.

"He did it!"

"He saved the day!"

"Go Naruto!"

"See, just like his Ninja Way! He can do anything he tries!"

Naruto watched the crowd of his friends near by, and waved over to them.

So… it was all really over-

A bullet ripped Naruto's chest. As he fell to one knee, someone laughed and coughed.

A barely recognizable I-no, torn up and completely red from top to bottom laughed. "At least… get rid of him!"

The shredded Colt, who held the gun, stared at the fallen figure. "Let's all have one more game…boy…"

Coughing out blood, Naruto glared behind him. With one more desperate yell, he poured chakra into Raijin one more time, and charged towards I-no and Colt.

The red musician flung out a scroll to Colt, who held the other end. Scripture between them, they shouted as Naruto approached.

"Alpha."

"Beta."

"Ninja Magic: Burning Omega."

A gigantic explosion consumed all of them.

There was silence once again in the abandoned village of Hidden Sound.

* * *

_Who's there…?_

_Ah…Naruto-kun…I didn't know you were here…_

_Man, how annoying. You're supposed to be alive or something, you know._

_You two…I'm sorry…_

_For what? Not being able to save us?_

…_Yeah…_

_It's alright, Naruto-kun. You did your best. I forgive you._

…_I still wish…_

_I know. But you have to move on…it was really troublesome for me to move on as well…_

_Oh? Finally out of angst to say? Good! Spare us. We get tired you your whining at times. You're so troublesome._

_Perhaps we'll meet again, my proud failure. But until then, Naruto-kun, run down that path you choose…_

…_if you ever fall down…_

…_remember it's to learn to pick yourself up…_

* * *

The sun was rising through the window of the hospital. When it shone, it got into Naruto's face. He tried to turn his head to get his eyes out of the sun. But he quickly awoke to the realization his neck was stuck in place by a cast.

"You took a pretty bad blow there, Naruto." A gruff, annoyed voice sounded out. Naruto turned over to the other side to see Jiraiya. Along with Sakura, and Honoko, and Neiji, Tenten, Kiba, and Chouji, and all the children. They all were gathered around the incapacitated ninja's bed.

"You're alive! You made it!"

Cheers all around.

"Welcome back, Naruto." Sakura grinned.

Naruto felt himself grin and scratch the back of his head. How long since he did something a childish as that? "I guess I have been away for a long time!"

"A lot has changed since you stopped Midnight Carnival." Chouji remarked with a mouth partially filled with potato chips.

"Really? How?"

"Well, for one thing, Sasuke seems to be a lot better. You know how the two of you got really sick? Now it seems the both of you are now pretty much back to normal!"

Honoko pouted, "You realize how long you've been asleep?"

"Er…"

"It's Christmas today! We huddled around your bed so long we almost forget what day it was!"

"Well… here I am! That's present enough, right?"

"I guess."

With that, Naruto stretched out and smiled to himself. "I feel so much lighter…"

Sakura raised an eyebrow and asked what he meant.

"I think… all that guilt… maybe it wore away after a while. I feel like… the dead forgave my sins…"

With that Sakura smiled. "See? You're okay now, Naruto. Remember, if you ever have problems, you still have us, not matter what. It's bad to run away from your friends when you have problems…"

As Sakura ranted on, Naruto nodded and looked all around him, at all the people he realized he missed when he left so long ago.

_You're right, Sakura-chan…_

_I'm not alone…_

* * *

**The End. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year**

* * *

'Naruto' Series property of Masashi Kishimoto

'Guilty Gear' Series property of Daisuke Ishiwatari.

'Final Fantasy: Advent Children', and 'Final Fantasy' Series property of Square-Enix.

Original Characters property of Author 'Person With Many Aliases'

A/N: Well. That went well enough. As I told you, more of the same if you saw it all before. The ending came out pretty… strange, but that's what happens if you try to mix cyberpunk FF7 with mother nature Naruto. I hope you enjoyed the fight scenes. (At least, the ones with Midnight Carnival in them.)

As for the name, Honoko. I dunno. Just pretend it's a Japanese name if it isn't, okay?

If some of you read my other Naruto fiction, "Mighty Ninjarai", don't worry. I'll be starting up on that soon enough. I just wanted to write this.


End file.
